By: Adeosun Ewatomi
In a dramatic turn of events, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Onyechi Ikpeazu has come to the defense of suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari and his team, citing a serious miscarriage of justice. Ikpeazu, a respected legal expert, is representing them pro bono.
In a press briefing recently held in Abuja, Ikpeazu revealed that Kyari and his team had intercepted and arrested two notorious drug traffickers; Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwanne at the Enugu Airport car park in 2022. According to him, the IRT handed over both the suspects and the 21.35kg of cocaine they were smuggling to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), after refusing enticements from the traffickers to let them go.
“The NDLEA, which failed to detect or intercept the drugs, astonishingly turned around to indict the very officers who carried out the arrests,” Ikpeazu declared. “That is a scandal of immense proportions.”The case took an unexpected turn when, after the transfer of the suspects to NDLEA custody, the agency filed charges not against the drug traffickers’ syndicate but against Kyari and his men. Despite the IRT’s clear role in intercepting the illegal consignment, the arrested traffickers entered into a controversial plea bargain with the NDLEA and were handed six-year sentences to run concurrently. Shockingly, they were released on May 19, 2023, after serving just 16 months.
“This is beyond irony,” Ikpeazu fumed. “The people who brought the drugs into our country, not hidden, mind you, but right there in plain evidence, are now free men, while those who caught them are being vilified and imprisoned. How do you explain that to the Nigerian people?”
The SAN raised fundamental questions about the NDLEA’s internal processes, emphasizing that the illicit substances must have passed through NDLEA-controlled checkpoints and clearance before reaching the parking lot of the airport where Kyari’s team arrested the traffickers.This is not just about Kyari or the IRT. This is a public interest matter,” Ikpeazu insisted. “You cannot allow those who bring demonic substances to poison our children walk free because of a plea deal, while those who put their lives on the line to stop them rot in jail.”
Ikpeazu underscored that this case bears the hallmarks of an institutional betrayal and called on the judiciary to give fair hearing to the embattled officers. He also criticized the NDLEA for persistently opposing bail for Kyari and his team, suggesting a deeper motive that Nigerians deserve to understand.If this is how we reward law enforcement officers who refuse to compromise, then we’re sending a dangerous message to every honest officer out there,” he cautioned.
Drawing parallels with his successful defence of Justice Adeniyi Ademola, Ikpeazu expressed confidence that justice will ultimately prevail. “A good defence,” he said, “enables the court to determine guilt or innocence. And I believe, when we present the facts, the truth will emerge clearly.”
As the case unfolds in the Federal High Court, public opinion continues to mount, with civil society groups and legal experts weighing in on what many see as a test case for institutional integrity and fairness in Nigeria’s criminal justice system.