The court of appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal filed by Abba Kyari, suspended deputy commissioner of police (DCP), seeking to upturn the ruling of a federal high court that denied him bail.
Stephen Adah, who read the unanimous judgment of a three-member panel of justices on Friday, held that Kyari’s appeal was without merit.
Adah held that Emeke Nwite, judge of an Abuja federal high court, rightly exercised his discretion when he denied the appellant bail considering the delicate nature of the matter.
Kyari is standing trial alongside four members of his team — Sunday Ubia, Bawa James, Simon Agirigba, and John Nuhu — on an eight-count charge of drug trafficking preferred against them by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
On August 30, Nwite refused to grant the defendants bail after they argued that their lives were being threatened by criminals who Kyari’s team arrested.
Kyari had also cited the July 5 incident when gunmen attacked the Kuje correctional facility and freed over 500 inmates, including suspected members of Boko Haram.
He said his refusal to escape despite the fact that the gates of the prison were left open for over three hours shows that he is a law-abiding citizen and would not jump bail if granted.
However, ruling on the application, the judge held that the suspended DCP failed to establish why the court’s previous decision on his remand pending the determination of the case against him, should be set aside.
