By: Nworisa Michael
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday dismissed the suit filed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) against suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, and his two younger brothers over alleged non-declaration of assets.
Delivering judgment in the matter, Justice James Omotosho ruled that the prosecution failed to establish the allegations brought before the court beyond reasonable doubt, emphasizing that the legal burden of proof rests squarely on the prosecuting authority.
According to the judge, it is the responsibility of the prosecution to prove its case with credible and convincing evidence capable of sustaining the charges brought before the court.
“The burden of proving a criminal case beyond reasonable doubt lies on the prosecution,” Justice Omotosho held while delivering the verdict.
The court further noted that the anti-narcotics agency failed to discharge that burden in the case presented against Kyari and the other defendants.
Justice Omotosho went further to describe the case as one that amounted to “persecution rather than prosecution,” stressing that the evidence presented before the court did not meet the legal threshold required for conviction under Nigerian law.
Consequently, the court ordered that the defendants be discharged and acquitted of all the charges contained in the suit.
The NDLEA had instituted the case against the former head of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Abba Kyari, alongside his brothers, Mohammed Kyari and Ali Kyari.
The agency alleged that the defendants failed to properly declare certain assets as required under the law.
However, after reviewing the submissions and evidence presented by both parties during the course of the trial, the court held that the prosecution did not sufficiently prove the allegations as required by law.
With the ruling, Kyari and his brothers are no longer facing the charges brought against them in the matter before the Federal High Court.
