Reporters, visitors, litigants and some lawyers, whose matters were listed on the cause list, were not allowed to witness court sitting on Tuesday.
By Jeffrey Agbo
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has explained that the court had a closed-door session on Tuesday in the trial of the suspended police officer, Abba Kyari, and his co-defendants because of the security of the witnesses.
Counsel for the NDLEA, Sunday Joseph, revealed this to reporters after the case was adjourned by Justice Emeka Nwite at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Mr Joseph, who said there was security concern about the trial, added that the class of witnesses brought to court were undercover witnesses who needed to be protected.
“These are class of witnesses that needed to be protected, they are undercover witnesses,” he said.
On what happened in the courtroom, Joseph, a director of Legal and Prosecution Department of the NDLEA, said the testimony of an additional witness was taken.
The lawyer said bank documents he sought to be tendered as exhibits were opposed by the defendants and he responded.
“So ruling of the court is reserved on the admissibility of the evidence we sought to tender to June 9,” he said.
Michael Mbanefo, lawyer to the third defendant (ASP Bawa James), also told reporters that the evidence of one of the witnesses was taken “but it was scuttled by the documents they wanted to tender which we opposed vehemently. So the case adjourned for a ruling.”
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Reporters, visitors, litigants and some lawyers, whose matters were listed on the cause list, were not allowed to witness court sitting on Tuesday.
Kyari and other police officers, who are on suspension, are being charged by the anti-narcotic agency on allegations bordering on tampering and dealing with part of the 21.8 kilogrammes of cocaine recovered from two convicts.
The four accused police officers include ACP Sunday J. Ubia, ASP Bawa James, Inspector Simon Agirigba and Inspector John Nuhu. They are listed as second to fifth defendants respectively.
They were arraigned alongside Chibunna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwanne, who conspired with some other persons (now at large), to traffick hard drugs into the country.
The court, on June 14, 2022, convicted and sentenced Umeibe and Ezenwanne to two years imprisonment.
