Court clears Abba Kyari of asset declaration fraud

The suspended Police officer, Abba Kyari has cleared by a Federal High Court in Abuja in the asset declaration case brought before it by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

Delivering the judgment on Wednesday, Justice James Omotosho said, the NDLEA failed to prove allegations against Abba Kyari that he didn’t properly file or declare properties linking to him and members of his family.

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The judgment was delivered after four years the case was filed against Kyari by the NDLEA in 2022.

Among the siblings of Abba Kyari is Mohammed Kyari and Ali Kyari, even as prosecutors accused them of failing to make full disclosure of assets as required by law.

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The NDLEA contended that there were three houses located in the EFAB Metropolitan Estate in Abuja belonging to the former head of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT). According to the prosecution, the properties were not properly declared.

However, the court disagreed with the claim.

In a detailed judgment that ran for nearly three hours, Justice Omotosho said the prosecution could not prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. The judge held that the NDLEA failed to establish that the three houses actually belonged to Kyari.

The court noted that Kyari had listed the properties in his asset declaration but indicated that they belonged to his wife. Justice Omotosho ruled that the declaration was not false and that the evidence presented by the prosecution was insufficient to support the charges.

While delivering the judgment, the judge criticised the manner the case was handled by the NDLEA. He said the agency appeared to have acted “too hasty” and described the prosecution as an act of “persecution”.

Based on these findings, the court cleared Kyari and his brothers of all the charges contained in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CR/408/2022.

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