The Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled February 26, 2026, to deliver judgment in the case instituted by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) against suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police and former head of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Abba Kyari.
Justice James Omotosho fixed the date on Friday after counsel to the NDLEA, Sunday Joseph; Kyari’s lawyer, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN); and counsel to Kyari’s brothers, Monjok Agom, adopted their final written addresses and presented arguments for and against the charges.
Kyari is standing trial alongside his brothers, Mohammed Kyari and Ali Kyari, on a 23-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/408/2022, filed by the NDLEA.
They are listed as the first to third defendants respectively.
The anti-drug agency accused the defendants of failing to make full disclosure of their assets and of engaging in the “disguising of ownership of properties and conversion of monies.”
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According to the NDLEA, investigations allegedly uncovered 14 assets linked to Abba Kyari, including shopping malls, a residential estate, a polo playground, as well as parcels of land and farmland.
The prosecution further alleged that Kyari failed to declare ownership of the properties, said to be located in various parts of the Federal Capital Territory and Maiduguri, Borno State. It also claimed that sums exceeding ₦207 million and €17,598 were found in his bank accounts.
The NDLEA said the alleged offences are punishable under Section 35(3)(a) of the NDLEA Act and Section 15(3)(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.
All three defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges at their arraignment.
During the trial, the NDLEA called 10 witnesses and tendered at least 20 exhibits in support of its case. After the prosecution closed its case, Kyari filed a no-case submission, arguing that the agency had failed to establish that he owned the properties listed in the charge.
However, in a ruling delivered on October 28, Justice Omotosho dismissed the application, holding that the prosecution had established a prima facie case.
The judge ruled that the evidence presented required the defendants to open their defence.
Kyari subsequently opened his defence on November 4, insisting that he had “duly declared his assets and those of his wife in accordance with the law.”
He denied ownership of several properties linked to him by the NDLEA, explaining that some belonged to his late father, who he said had about 30 children.
He also denied owning the polo playground allegedly traced to him in Borno State, telling the court that he was “surprised that such a large expanse of land would be attributed” to him.
The former IRT commander closed his defence on November 26 after completing his testimony under examination by his counsel, Ikpeazu (SAN), and cross-examination by the NDLEA.
Kyari’s brothers, Mohammed and Ali, through their lawyer, Monjok Agom, informed the court that they would not be calling any witnesses and would instead rest their case on that of the prosecution.
Meanwhile, Abba Kyari is also facing a separate trial before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in connection with an alleged cocaine deal involving some police officers. Both cases were instituted by the NDLEA in 2022.
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