The court granted permission to the NDLEA to the suspects for the period to enable the agency complete its investigation into the hard drug trafficking allegations against them.
By Emma Ogbuehi
A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted the request by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for permission to further detain for 14 days the two alleged drug couriers Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus, named in the case involving suspended DCP Abba Kyari.
Justice Zainab Abubakar gave the order for the detention of Umeibe and Alphonsus for 14 days in the NDLEA facility in Abuja pending investigation.
Justice Abubakar gave the order after listening to the Director, Prosecution and Legal Services (NDLEA), Joseph. Sunday who moved an ex-parte application to that effect.
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Keep him for another 14 days, NDLEA gets court nod on Abba Kyari
The Court had also ruled that the suspended DCP Abba Kyari, would spend another 14 days in detention after approving the request of the NDLEA for more time.
Before he became the IRT commander, Abba Kyari was a former Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) commander in Lagos, a notorious outfit infamous for extrajudicial murder of crime suspects, and flaunting of court orders.
He had applied for bail yesterday but the court declined on the ground that his legal team did not put the NDLEA on notice. With the current decision of the court that Abba Kyari be held for another 14 days, the bail hearing will be deferred till then.
The court granted permission to the NDLEA) to hold Abba Kyari for the period to enable the agency to complete its investigation into the hard drug trafficking allegations against him.
NDLEA said there are prima facie evidence that links the former IRT commander with a cocaine ring from Ethiopia.
Justice Abubakar issued the order for Abba Kyari’s further detention while ruling in an ex-parte application argued by the NDLEA counsel, Mike Kassa.
The NDLEA had, in the application to the court, pleaded for more time to detain Abba Kyari on the ground that the hard drug trafficking allegations against the suspect were complex and may require the agency travelling outside the shore of the country to make some clarifications.
The counsel asked the court to grant the detention extension in the interest of justice and to be fair to the suspect too through diligent investigation.
In a short ruling, Justice Abubakar ordered that Abba Kyari be detained for another 14 days.
The judge ordered that the 14 days further detention should start counting from today, February 22.