Abba Kyari, former Deputy Commissioner of Police and head of the Intelligent Response Team (IRT), has been released from the Kuje Custodial Centre in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) after 27 months of detention.
The spokesman for the FCT Command of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Adamu Duza, confirmed his release over the weekend after he was arrested on February 14, 2022, by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for alleged involvement in an international drug ring. Adamu Duza stated that Kyari was freed after meeting his bail conditions.
Kyari was arraigned on March 7, 2022, alongside four other IRT members—Sunday Ubia, Bawa James, Simon Agirigba, and John Nuhu—and two suspected drug traffickers, Chibunna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwanne. The NDLEA accused Kyari and his team of seizing 25kg of cocaine from traffickers arriving from Ethiopia, but taking 15kg for themselves.
This arrest followed Kyari’s indictment by the U.S. government in an internet fraud case involving Ramon Abbas, also known as Hushpuppi.
While Umeibe and Ezenwanne pleaded guilty and were convicted, Kyari and his team maintained their innocence.
Despite multiple denied bail applications, Kyari was granted a two-week bail on May 22, 2024, by Justice Emeka Nwite of a Federal High Court in Abuja, to allow him to conclude the burial rites of his mother, Yachilla Kyari, who died on May 5.
As part of his bail conditions, Kyari was required to deposit his international passport with the court and report to the nearest NDLEA office during the bail period.
