Suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, has been released from the Kuje Custodial Centre in the Federal Capital Territory after spending 27 months in detention.
Kyari was detained after being arrested on February 14, 2022, by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for his alleged involvement with an international drug cartel.
Alongside four members of the Police Intelligence Response Team, Kyari was arraigned on March 7, 2022.
Two suspected drug traffickers, Chibunna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwanne, who were apprehended at Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, were also charged.
While Kyari and the IRT members pleaded not guilty, Umeibe and Ezenwanne pleaded guilty and were convicted.
However, despite numerous applications, Kyari’s requests for bail were consistently denied until a recent ruling by a Federal High Court in Abuja.
On May 22, 2024, Judge Emeka Nwite granted Kyari bail to allow him to complete the burial ceremonies for his late mother, Yachilla Kyari, who passed away on May 5. As part of his bail conditions, Kyari was required to surrender his passport to the court and report to the nearest NDLEA office during the bail period.
The court has scheduled a hearing on Kyari’s primary bail application for drug trafficking charges for May 31, 2024.
In a statement, the mouthpiece of the Nigerian Correctional Service for the Federal Capital Territory Command, Adamu Duza, told journalists that on Friday evening, Kyari fulfilled his bail requirements and was set free.
“DCP Kyari has perfected his bail conditions, and has since been released today,” Duza told The PUNCH.
