Malami okays seizure of Abba Kyari’s accounts, others

Abubakar Malami (SAN), the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice of Nigeria, has approved a request by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for the seizure of the assets of disgraced Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Abba Kyari and his co-accused.

POLITICS NIGERIA reports that Kyari is standing trial on cocaine-related charges alongside four members of his former police unit, the Intelligence Response Unit (IRU), and two other persons arrested at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu State in January 2022. The NDLEA had accused Kyari of working with a drug cartel in Brazil.

He was arraigned on March 7th alongside four other police officers who are also members of the IRT team. He is facing an 8-count charge of conspiracy, dealing in cocaine and other related offences.

The seizure is coming shortly after N4.2 billion was traced to accounts owned by Kyari and his accomplices.

Punch on Monday quoted a senior justice ministry official as saying: “The AGF has endorsed the request by the NDLEA seeking approval for the confiscation of the assets of Abba Kyari, Ubua and the other police officers involved in drug dealing.

“With the approval, the drug agency can now go after their property such as real estate, bank accounts, cash, vehicles, stocks, bonds and anything of monetary value.”

Apart from the NDLEA episode, Kyari is also enmeshed in scam deals involving Ramon Abbas, commonly known as Hushpuppi, leading to him being wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).