Court admits video evidence allegedly indicting NDLEA in Abba Kyari’s trial

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday admitted a video tendered as evidence by the defence witness, which allegedly indicted operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), as an exhibit in the trial of suspended DCP Abba Kyari.

Justice Emeka Nwite, in a ruling, overruled the NDLEA’s objection and marked the video recordings as “Exhibit D-3.”

The video contains the confessional statements of the two drug traffickers, Chibunna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwanne, convicted by Justice Nwite on June 14, 2022, after they pleaded guilty to the counts preferred against them by the NDLEA.

It would be recalled that Insp. El-John Nwonke, while giving his testimony on Jan. 28, told Justice Nwite how officers of the anti-narcotic agency allegedly aided Umeibe and Ezenwanne to beat security checks at Enugu International Airport on Jan 19, 2022, on arrival from Ethiopia with the substance suspected to be cocaine.

Nwoke, the 2nd defence witness (DW-2), said the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) arrested the cocaine traffickers shortly after they were cleared by the NDLEA officers at the airport.

He said he was serving with the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) of the Nigerian Police Force, Abuja, when the two suspects were arrested by the IRT officers and brought for investigation.

He said he was part of the team that conducted the interview session for the suspects on Jan. 20, 2022, during which their statements were taken, and the session was recorded.

The witness said the recorded video was transferred to a digital video disc (DVD).

Nwonke, while being led in evidence-in-chief by Kyari’s lawyer, Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, said during the session, the duo confessed that the police officers arrested them with the substance said to be cocaine at the airport after the officers of the NDLEA on duty had cleared them.

The DW-2 also said that the convicted drug traffickers told his team how the NDLEA officers at the point of entry used sign language to help them beat security checks on arrival, before their eventual arrest by the police.

The serving police officer, who had been subpoenaed to testify, presented his warrant card and official identification to the court.

He said the convicts told him that they had been in the business for a long time.

After the witness told the lawyer that a copy of the subpoena letter, the DVD and a certificate of compliance were with him in court, Ikpeazu sought to tender them in evidence. Still, counsel for the NDLEA, Joseph Sunday, reacted.

Although Sunday did not object to tendering the subpoena letter, which he regarded as a court document, he did object to tendering the video and the certificate of compliance.

Justice Nwite then adjourned until Feb. 27 for ruling after taking the arguments of the prosecution and the defence.

Delivering the ruling on Friday, the judge admitted the video recording as “Exhibit D-3” and adjourned until March 16 for it to be played at the continuation of the trial.

Kyari, the former head of Police IRT, alongside four other suspended IRT officers, including the two convicted drug traffickers, were initially being prosecuted by the NDLEA on an eight-count charge.

The agency had accused them of conspiracy, illegal dealing in cocaine, importation of cocaine and obstruction.

The four officers are ACP Sunday J. Ubua; ASP Bawa James, Insp. Simon Agirgba and Insp. John Nuhu, named as the 2nd to 5th defendants.

Umeibe and Ezenwanne were listed as the 6th and 7th defendants.

Umeibe and Ezenwanne, who were non-police officers, later pleaded guilty to counts 5, 6 and 7 preferred against them on June 14, 2022, and were convicted and sentenced to a two-year jail term.

However, the affected police officers, after their arraignment on March 7, 2022, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

After the NDLEA concluded its case, Kyari and his co-defendants opened their defence.