Kyari denies ownership of assets linked to him by NDLEA

The embatttled Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari has denied ownership of 14 assets, including shopping mall, residential estate, polo playground, lands, farmland and cash allegedly traced to him by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

NDLEA had on Monday filed new charges against the suspended cop and traced a number of assets, including cash in different bank accounts, to him and his deputy.

However, in a statement issued by his lawyer, Hamza Toni on Monday, the former Commander, Intelligence Response Team, claimed the reports were masterminded by the NDLEA to further tarnish his image.

Kyari claimed the agency resorted to cheap blackmail because “NDLEA’s case in court against Abba Kyari and four others is not going well for them.”

The lawyer stated that money in Kyari’s account were “N2.8 million in his UBA account, the only account he has been using for the past eight years; 7,000 pounds in GTB kept over eight years ago and N350,000 in GTB kept many years ago”.

Others were N200,000 in Sterling Bank and Access Bank account not in use for over eight years.

Toni claimed that the allegations were misleading, recalling the dismissal of suit filed against Kyari by the Attorney General of the Federal, Abubakar Malami, to extradite his customer.

Read also: ‘I requested further probe on Kyari,’ Malami denies exonerating police officer

The statement read: “The businessmen who own those properties and gave their documents have already filed their cases against NDLEA in Federal High Court Maiduguri. The NDLEA without any evidence went and marked innocent people’s properties in Maiduguri and Abuja in April 2022 and released the news to the media which went viral April 2022.

“These whole properties matter is before Federal High Court in Maiduguri but NDLEA is still desperate by trying to link Abba Kyari without any evidence to financial crimes and properties that do not belong to him, neither is there one kobo of drug money or any crime money that is linked to Abba Kyari in any way.

“We challenge NDLEA to release the evidence to the public immediately if any. The whole thing is only aimed at media trials as they have no evidence to show to the court. If they have the evidence, let them release it to the media. This is how all their cases will crumble in the courts since their aim is only a media trial.”

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