Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, who is currently facing trial on charges of money laundering, has been granted bail by the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday. The ruling was delivered by Justice James Omotosho, who set the bail amount at N50 million. As part of the bail conditions, Kyari is required to provide two sureties who possess property valued at N25 million within the jurisdiction of the court. Other stipulations outlined by Justice Omotosho must also be met.
One of Kyari's lawyers, Hamza N. Dantani, shared the news of the court granting bail for the money laundering charges on his Facebook page and expressed gratitude for the decision. The ongoing trial revolves around the discovery of $61,400 in cash and a 25kg parcel of cocaine, which were seized as evidence and believed to have been used as a bribe to influence officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). Kyari is accused of attempting to bribe a senior agency officer with $61,400 at a restaurant in Abuja to prevent the testing of a portion of the seized cocaine linked to two individuals arrested for drug trafficking.
In addition to these charges, Kyari is also being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States in connection with a fraud case involving Instagram celebrity Ramon Abbas, also known as Hushpuppi. Since his arrest on February 14, 2022, after being declared wanted by the NDLEA over alleged drug-related connections, Kyari has remained in detention. Despite his previous bail application being rejected by Justice Nwite of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal regarding the cocaine trafficking charges, it is important to note that he is still being held without bail on the primary charge of cocaine trafficking.
