On Tuesday, the presiding judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Emeka Nwite, ordered litigants and parties not directly involved in the alleged drug trafficking case against suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, to leave the courtroom, including those who had pending matters before him.
The order was issued in response to an application filed by the applicant, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, requesting witness protection.
Nwite granted the request on Tuesday, and the court adjourned for a short period of time so that additional solicitors, guests and journalists could leave.
The registrar announced that other lawyers who have no business in Kyari’s case should step forward and request a new date.
This prompted one of the lawyers to begin railing in court, questioning why he was being asked to take another date and arguing that the court should not give preference to some “VIP” cases.
After the parties refused to leave, the judge returned to the courtroom.
One of the lawyers, Oluwabiyi Emmanuel, whose case was on the cause list for the day’s proceedings, lamented before the judge that it was difficult for him to take another date.
The judge responded that if lawyers who had matters before him could wait outside until after Kyari’s session, that would be fine.
“It is a standing order of the court,” the judge said before he rose up and returned to his chambers for his order to be complied with.
After the court rose, the NDLEA counsel, Sunday Joseph told newsmen that his application bordered on the protection of his witnesses.
According to him, several members of the Police division of the Intelligence Response Team, IRT, are loyal to Kyari and have been observing the proceedings, thereby making witnesses to be afraid.
“We are entering into the nitty gritty of the case where we will bring in bank documents, and the witnesses are afraid,” Joseph said.
The judge’s order was complied with by journalists and others as proceedings on NDLEA’s case against Kyari resumed.
Recall that Kyari and six others were on March 14, 2022 arraigned before the court by the NDLEA for tampering with the 21.35 kilogrammes of cocaine seized from suspected traffickers.
Co-defendants in the case include officers Sunday Ubia, Bawa James, Simon Agirigba, and John Nuhu.
But they pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Two civilians among those arraigned had pleaded guilty to possessing hard drugs and were accordingly sentenced to prison.
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