A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, dismissed an application filed by suspended DCP Abba Kyari seeking an order dismissing the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA’s charge against him.
Justice Emeka Nwite, in a ruling, held that the court had the exclusive right and jurisdiction to hear drug-related cases as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the NDLEA Act.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Nwite had, on Jan. 18, adjourned for ruling in the application filed by Kyari and three other co-defendants in the suit bordering on a drug offence.
The applicants are Kyari, ACP Sunday Ubia, Insp Simon Agirigba and Insp John Nuhu.
They had prayed the court to quash the criminal charge against them in fresh motions on notice filed by their lawyers on the grounds that the suit was incompetent.
They urged the court to stop their trial because they had not been subjected to the internal disciplinary action of the Nigeria Police Council (NPC) and the Police Service Commission (PSC), as provided by the constitution.
They said that the failure of the complainant (NDLEA) to await the disciplinary action against them rendered the charge incompetent and deprived the court of jurisdiction to entertain the charge.
But the NDLEA counsel, Mr Joseph Sunday, opposed the application.
He argued that most of the cases cited by lawyers to the defendants did not relate to the Police Service Act, saying the instant charge against the defendant was a criminal matter.
He submitted that the defendants, through their applications, had not, by way of affidavit or legal argument, established any condition precedence required for the filing of this charge.
“To that extent, their application must fail and be bereft of any factual evidence,” he said.
Sunday urged the court to dismiss the application and proceed to the hearing of the matter.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Nwite held that the powers of the Police Service Commission did not supersede the powers of the FHC.
He said that the subject matter of the case was within the jurisdiction of the court.
According to the judge, Section 251(2)(F) and (3) of the Constitution confers the court the power to hear and determine the charge.
Recall that on Sept. 5, 2022, in a fresh suit filed at the federal high court, the NDLEA accused Kyari of non-disclosure of assets.
According to the fresh 24 charges, the NDLEA said Mr Kyari failed to declare his ownership of the property in different locations in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and Maiduguri.
The anti-drug agency also said over N207 million and 17,598 Euro were also found in his various accounts in three banks.
