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The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to produce documents showing the names of officers who were on duty at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, on January 19, 2022, as part of evidence in the ongoing trial involving suspended police officer Abba Kyari and others.
The order was made during Monday’s proceedings before Justice Emeka Nwite, following a request from the defense team seeking access to official NDLEA records linked to the alleged cocaine interception incident.
The defense seeks the service records of NDLEA officers
Advisor to Abba Kyari and the Insp. Simon Agirgba, Julius Mba, informed the court that the defense had filed a subpoena duces tecum asking the NDLEA to produce certified copies of the list of agency personnel deployed at Enugu Airport on the day in question.
A subpoena duces tecum is a court order requiring a person or organization to produce specific documents or evidence relevant to a legal proceeding.
Mba said the requested documents were necessary for the defense of the accused.
According to him, the subpoena required the NDLEA leadership to submit: names of officers on duty at Akanu Ibiam International Airport on January 19, 2022, relevant documents certified for inspection by the court.
The trial concerns alleged cocaine-related crimes
Abba Kyari, former commander of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), is on trial alongside other police officers suspended over charges linked to a cocaine investigation.
The NDLEA accused Kyari and the officers of interfering with cocaine evidence recovered from two convicted drug traffickers.
The accused officers include: ACP Sunday J. Ubua, ASP Bawa James, Insp. Simon Agirgba; and the Inspector. John Nuhu.
The two convicted drug traffickers involved in the case are: Chibunna Umeibe, Emeka Ezenwanne
They had pleaded guilty to the drug charges brought against them, while Kyari and the other police officers had pleaded not guilty.
The absence of the defense witness delays the proceedings
The latest proceedings were also affected by the absence of the second defense witness, John Nwonke, who had been called to testify.
The defense lawyer told the court that Nwonke was unable to appear due to illness.
The defense submitted a letter informing the court of the witness’s condition and requested an adjournment to allow him to recover and continue his testimony.
However, NDLEA lawyer Joseph Sunday opposed the request, arguing that the defense had previously been advised by the court to ensure the witness appeared.
He accused the defense of trying to delay the proceedings and urged the court to dismiss the witness’s testimony.
The judge grants the last chance
Judge Nwite ruled that the explanation given by the witness was not sufficiently convincing to justify the requested delay.
However, in the interest of fairness and justice, the court granted another opportunity and adjourned the matter to October 7 for the continuation of Nwonke’s testimony and cross-examination.
The judge warned that failure of the witness to appear on the next date would result in his evidence being dismissed.
The court also ordered defense lawyers representing the first to fifth defendants to submit the names of all witnesses they intend to call before the next hearing date.
