Deborah Onyofufeke, Abuja
Justice Emeka Nwite, of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, dismissed the application the suspended DCP, Abba Kyari filed before the court, wherein he sought an order for the charges the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)’s brought against him be dismissed.
The applicants in their suit, Kyari, ACP Sunday Ubia, Insp. Simon Agirigba and Insp. John Nuhu, had in a fresh motion on notice, prayed the court to quash the criminal charges against them.
The fresh application which was filed by their lawyers on the grounds that the suit was incompetent, also urged the court to stop their trial because they had not been subjected to the internal disciplinary action of the Nigeria Police Council (NPC) and the Police Service Commission (PSC), as provided by the constitution.
They said that the failure of the complainant (NDLEA) to await the disciplinary action against them rendered the charge incompetent and deprived the court of jurisdiction to entertain the charge.
Mr Joseph Sunday, the NDLEA counsel, however opposed the application, while he maintained that most of the cases cited by lawyers to the defendants did not relate with Police Service Act, saying the instant charge against the defendant was a criminal matter.
He urged the court to dismiss the application and proceed to the hearing of the matter, noting that their application isbereft of any factual evidence.
He submitted that the defendants through their applications had not, by way of affidavit or legal argument, established any condition precedence required for the filing of this charge.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Nwite held that the the subject matter of the case was within jurisdiction of the court and the powers of the Police Service Commission did not supersede the powers of the Federal High Court.
Justice Nwite held that, Section 251(2)(F) and (3) of the Constitution confers the court the powers to hear and determine the charge.
He held that the court had the exclusive right and jurisdiction to hear drug related cases as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the NDLEA Act.
