Court gives Abba Kyari and others last chance to submit defence witnesses in drug case

Judge Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday gave suspended Abba Kyari and four other police officers facing cocaine charges their last chance to submit their lists of defence witnesses.

The judge warned that if they did not comply, it could force the closure of their defence.

He issued this warning after he was unhappy with the defendants' failure to follow his order from 5 October. That order directed them to submit the names of witnesses they wanted to call for their defence.

Judge Nwite noted that none of the defendants had followed the order. "The orders of court must be obeyed," Judge Nwite said. He warned that he would not take violations of the court’s orders lightly.

Mr Kyari, who is a deputy commissioner of police on suspension, is on trial with four members of his now-dissolved Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT): Sunday J. Ubua, an assistant commissioner of police; Bawa James, an assistant superintendent of police; Simon Agirgba and John Nuhu, both inspectors.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) accused the five officers of dealing with 21.35kg of cocaine seized from two traffickers at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, on 19 January 2022.

The prosecution also charged them with tampering with the drug by removing 17.55kg from it and replacing it with another substance.

The agency also accused Mr Kyari of offering $61,400 to an NDLEA officer to stop the cocaine from being tested. All five have denied any wrongdoing.

Friday’s ruling came after a disagreement about whether the defence could question an officer who came to court with a list of NDLEA personnel on duty at the airport when the two cocaine smugglers arrived from Ethiopia.

The defence had requested the list through a subpoena to support its case, showing how the two traffickers passed through airport security before their arrest by Mr Kyari’s IRT on the airport ground.

The subpoena caused some trouble on Wednesday when the prosecution contested it, saying it was directed to the NDLEA’s director-general, a position they said did not exist.

However, the prosecution said an officer would bring the document, and the case was postponed until the next day.

On Thursday, Ojebir Victor, identified by the prosecution as an assistant commander in charge of personnel statistics, appeared with the list.

After Mr Victor presented the document and took the witness’ oath, the prosecution and defence disagreed on whether the officer could be questioned.

NDLEA’s lawyer Joseph Sunday said the subpoena only required the officer to bring the document and not to give oral evidence. He said the defence should have had a separate subpoena for him to testify.

The defence lawyer insisted the officer could be questioned to clarify the document’s contents.

Judge Nwite decided to hold off on his ruling until Friday, 9 October, when he rejected the defence’s request and let the officer go without cross-examination.

The defence then asked for more time to prepare its case.

Mr Sunday opposed this request, saying the officer’s discharge did not stop the defendants from calling other witnesses. He reminded the court of its earlier order directing the defence to submit its witness lists.

He also asked the judge to limit the defendants from calling more witnesses and sought costs due to the series of adjournments.

Judge Nwite rejected the defence’s argument, saying the circumstances around the officer's discharge could not excuse their failure to follow the order.

He decided to give all the defendants another chance to submit their lists of defence witnesses, "in the interest of justice."

He warned that he could close their defence if they failed to comply by the next sitting on 12 October.

The case started in March 2022 when the NDLEA charged Mr Kyari, four other police officers, and two cocaine traffickers with drug-related offences.

The NDLEA accused them of crimes linked to 21.35kg of cocaine seized from Chibunna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwanne, the two traffickers who brought the drug into Nigeria through the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, in January 2022.

The police officers, including Mr Kyari, allegedly tampered with the cocaine after seizing it from the traffickers by taking 17.55kg from it and replacing it with a fake substance.

One charge against Mr Kyari accused him of offering $61,400 to a senior anti-narcotics officer to avoid testing the cocaine for adulteration.

While Mr Kyari and the four officers pleaded not guilty, Mr Umeibe and Mr Ezenwanne admitted to the charges. They were sentenced to two years in prison, which they have completed.

The prosecution began its case against the five officers in July 2022, almost two months after their arraignment. The NDLEA called 16 witnesses and presented about 52 electronic and documentary exhibits.

One witness, Peter Joshua, an NDLEA operative, testified that Mr Kyari offered him $61,400 after weighing and testing the cocaine.

Another witness, Mohammed Ajia, testified in October 2022 that forensic tests showed that 80 percent of the substance was cocaine, while the other 20 percent was something else.

The prosecution closed its case in July 2024.

In April 2025, Judge Nwite rejected the defence’s no-case submission, ruling that they had cases to answer and ordered them to present their defence.

Mr Kyari began his defence in July 2025, calling Adeshina Fasasi, a team lead with MTN’s incident management unit, as his first witness.

Mr Fasasi testified about call data records linked to Mr Kyari. He said the records did not show contact between Mr Kyari and a number linked to a suspected trafficker named Mike Coke. He also said that the number saved as "Coke" belonged to Ruth Ayuba, not Mr Kyari.

Mr Fasasi explained that MTN’s call data records did not include the content of calls, WhatsApp messages, or names saved in users’ contacts. During cross-examination, he admitted he was not directly employed by MTN Nigeria and had not read the full report given to the court.

The second defence witness, El-John Nwonke, a police inspector, started his testimony in January 2026. He said he was part of the police team that interviewed Mr Umeibe and Mr Ezenwanne after their arrest at the Enugu airport.

Mr Nwonke told the court that the two men confessed during the interview that NDLEA officers at Enugu airport helped them get through security checks before they were arrested with the cocaine.

The interview was recorded on a DVD. The court accepted the DVD as Exhibit D-3 on 28 February, and the defence played the video in court on 16 March. In the video, the two men claimed NDLEA officers helped them avoid airport security.

However, Mr Nwonke’s testimony could not be cross-examined as he often failed to attend court.

On 29 September, the defence lawyer requested an adjournment, saying the witness was outside Nigeria for work. When he did not show up again, the defence submitted a letter asking for more time because he was ill.

The prosecution opposed another adjournment and asked the court to close the witness’s evidence. Judge Nwite reluctantly gave more time but warned that the testimony would be closed if the witness did not come.

Mr Nwonke was absent again on 7 October, leading the prosecution to renew its request to close the witness’s evidence. The judge approved the request, "foreclosing" the police inspector’s testimony and dismissing his evidence. He said the witness had enough time to testify and undergo cross-examination.