By Amah
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A Federal High Court in Abuja has discharged and acquitted suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, of a 23-count charge bordering on alleged non-declaration of assets, ruling that the prosecution failed to establish its case with credible evidence.
Delivering judgment, Justice James Omotosho held that the allegations brought by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) were not proven beyond reasonable doubt, a legal threshold required for criminal conviction.
The case had drawn significant public attention due to Kyari’s once-prominent role within the Nigerian Police Force and the controversies that have surrounded him in recent years.
Kyari was arraigned alongside two of his brothers, who were accused of swearing false affidavits to allegedly conceal the true ownership of certain properties said to belong to the suspended police officer.
The prosecution alleged that Kyari failed to declare several properties in his asset records and that his brothers conspired to help obscure their origin.
Among the properties cited were buildings allegedly located in Fountain Estate in the Karsana area of Abuja, as well as properties on Linda Choko Road in the high-brow Asokoro district of the Federal Capital Territory and others in Maiduguri, Borno State.
However, during the course of the trial, the court found that the prosecution could not conclusively link Kyari to the ownership of those properties.
In his judgment, Justice Omotosho ruled that the evidence presented failed to establish that the properties cited in the charges were actually owned by Kyari.
The judge observed that documentation presented in court showed that the property located at Fountain Estate in Karsana belonged to Ramatu Kyari, not the suspended police officer.
Similarly, the court held that there was no credible material evidence tying Kyari to the properties alleged to be located on Linda Choko Road in Asokoro or those in Maiduguri.
Justice Omotosho emphasised that suspicion or assumption cannot replace proof in criminal proceedings.
“The prosecution failed to provide convincing evidence establishing ownership of the properties by the first defendant,” the court noted in essence while evaluating the evidence before it.
Kyari had argued during the trial that the properties mentioned in Maiduguri were not secret acquisitions but part of family inheritance from his late father.
According to his defence, the properties were jointly owned by members of the family and not exclusively his.
The court held that the prosecution failed to disprove this claim or produce evidence showing otherwise.
Without such proof, the judge said the allegation that Kyari deliberately concealed those assets could not stand.
Justice Omotosho also faulted the charges filed against Kyari’s brothers, who were accused of conspiracy and of swearing false affidavits.
The court ruled that the prosecution failed to demonstrate any agreement or coordinated effort between them to commit an offence.
Describing the case as weak and lacking credible evidential foundation, the judge stated that the elements required to sustain a conspiracy charge were absent.
Having found that the prosecution failed to prove the allegations beyond reasonable doubt, the court discharged and acquitted Kyari and the other defendants on all counts.
The ruling effectively ends the asset declaration case brought by the NDLEA against the suspended police officer.
Legal observers say the judgment reinforces a central principle of criminal law, that the burden of proof lies with the prosecution and that accusations must be supported by clear and convincing evidence before a court can return a guilty verdict.
