The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed February 26, 2026, to deliver judgment in the case filed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) against suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, over alleged non-disclosure and illegal ownership of multi-billion-naira assets.
Justice James Omotosho set the date on Friday after lawyers representing the NDLEA, Kyari, and his two younger brothers—Mohammed and Ali—adopted their final written addresses and argued their positions on the 23-count charge.
The NDLEA is accusing the former commander of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) and his brothers of failing to fully declare assets allegedly traced to them, and of disguising ownership of property in violation of the NDLEA Act and the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.
According to the anti-narcotics agency, investigations uncovered 14 assets linked to Kyari, including shopping malls, residential estates, farmland, lands, and a polo playground spread across Abuja and Maiduguri.
The agency also said it traced over N207 million and €17,598 to several bank accounts in GTBank, UBA and Sterling Bank, allegedly owned by the embattled officer.
Kyari, Mohammed, and Ali have all plead not guilty.
The NDLEA called 10 witnesses and tendered at least 20 exhibits to support its case. After the prosecution closed its evidence, Kyari entered a no-case submission, insisting that the agency failed to prove that he owned the properties in question.
But Justice Omotosho, in a ruling delivered on October 28, dismissed the submission, holding that the prosecution had established a prima facie case requiring the defendants to open their defence.
Opening his defence on November 4, Kyari insisted he had duly declared his assets—including those belonging to his wife—arguing that some of the properties listed by the NDLEA belonged to his late father, who had “about 30 children.”
He also denied ownership of a large polo ground in Borno, saying the land had never belonged to him.
After concluding his testimony on November 26, Kyari closed his defence. His two brothers, through their lawyer Monjok Agom, informed the court that they would not be calling any witnesses and would rest their case on that of the prosecution.
The matter is distinct from the ongoing cocaine-related trial involving Kyari and four other police officers before Justice Emeka Nwite of another Federal High Court in Abuja. Both cases were filed by the NDLEA in 2022.
Judgment in the asset-disclosure case is now scheduled for February 26, 2026.
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