The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday dismissed an application by a suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, seeking to strike out charges against him.
In his ruling, Justice Emeka Nwite Kyari dismissed the application on the ground that the court has the exclusive right and Jurisdiction to hear drug-related cases as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act.
Mr. Nwite had, on January 18, adjourned for ruling in the application filed by Mr. Kyari and three other co-defendants in the suit bordering on a drug offense.
The applicants are Mr. Kyari, ACP Sunday Ubia, Insp Simon Agirigba, and Insp John Nuhu.
They had pleaded to the court to quash the criminal charge against them in fresh motions on notice filed by their lawyers because the suit was incompetent and to stop their trial because they had yet to be subjected to the internal disciplinary action of the Nigeria Police Council and the Police Service Commission, as provided by the constitution.
They said NDLEA’s failure to await the disciplinary action against them rendered the charge incompetent and deprived the court of jurisdiction to entertain it.