Abba Kyari, the deputy commissioner of police who is currently on suspension, was granted N50 million bail by an Abuja Federal High Court.
In a case where he and two of his siblings, Baba and Ali, were accused of failing to disclose their assets to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Kyari was on Thursday granted bail by Justice James Omotosho.
Justice Omotosho granted conditional bail to Kyari in the amount of N50m with two sureties in the same amount after ruling on an application submitted by the defendant.
The sureties must own N25 million worth of property inside the jurisdiction, the judge stated.
As part of the bail conditions, the court also mandated that Kyari and his sureties deposit their foreign passports, account statements, title documents to their properties, and most recent passport photos with the court registrar.
In addition, the judge conditionally approved Kyari’s release warrant pending developments in another case that was being heard by Justice Emeka Nwite and in which Kyari was standing trial with four other people for drug-related offenses.
Justice Omotosho decided to grant Kyari’s request for bail since there was no proof that he posed a flight risk or that he wouldn’t show up for his trial.
The Justice emphasized that the NDLEA did not contest Kyari’s assertion that he was in Kuje jail for the duration of the previous prison break but chose not to flee even though he had the chance.
Regarding the likelihood that the first defendant will appear at his trial, it is important to note that, per the affidavits submitted in support of the application, the applicant claimed that he was being held at the Kuje prisons when the jailbreak on July 5, 2022, occurred and that he chose to remain where he was even though he had the chance to flee.
“The complainant/respondent did not object to this deposition, thus it is admitted. This demonstrates that the applicant has demonstrated a willingness to appear in court as necessary and that he is not trying to flee from his trial.
“This fact will be in the applicant’s favor because it demonstrates to the court that the applicant would not violate bail conditions if given the same. I take note of decisions rejecting bail for the first defendant/applicant,” the court added.
Further proceedings in the case were postponed by the court until October 18.
Meanwhile, rights activist Rinu Oduala posted on Twitter that corrupt police officer Abba Kyari, who oversaw the homicidal, criminal SARS squad, had been granted bail by an Abuja high court. This helps to maintain impunity and absolves offenders of responsibility for their deeds. #EndSARS.”
Additionally, when approached by our correspondent, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Femi Falana stated he would wait to comment on the verdict until he had seen the certified true copy.