The Federal High Court has ruled in favour of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), rejecting a request by the defence to weigh drug exhibits in the ongoing trial of suspended police officer Abba Kyari and four others.
NDLEA prosecution counsel, Joseph Sunday, disclosed this while providing an update on proceedings in the case of the Federal Republic of Nigeria versus Abba Kyari and four others.
According to Sunday, the request was made by counsel to the third defendant during the cross-examination of the fifth defence witness, identified as DW5, whose testimony was presented on behalf of Kyari and the fourth defendant, Simon Agirgba .
Sunday explained that the defence counsel had brought a weighing scale to court and asked that the drug exhibits be weighed.
However, the prosecution opposed the request, arguing that the witness under cross-examination had no direct knowledge of the exhibits and was not involved in their recovery, testing or weighing.
He said the officer responsible for testing and weighing the exhibits, Peter Joshua, who testified as the prosecution’s third witness, had already given evidence in the case nearly a year earlier.
The prosecution therefore argued that there was no justification for conducting the exercise during the testimony of a witness who had no connection with the exhibits.
Sunday said the court considered arguments from both sides before delivering its ruling in favour of the prosecution.
He maintained that the defence could have sought to examine the exhibits when the relevant prosecution witness was giving evidence.
On the progress of the trial, the NDLEA counsel said DW5 continued his testimony on Monday before being cross-examined by lawyers representing the other defendants and the prosecution on Tuesday.
He said the witness was subsequently discharged after the cross-examination was concluded.
Sunday clarified that the witness was subpoenaed by Kyari and Agirgba, who were responsible for examining him in chief before the other parties conducted their cross-examination.
He added that two more witnesses subpoenaed by the first and fourth defendants were expected to testify when proceedings resume on Thursday, October 22, 2026.
The trial involves Kyari and four co-defendants in a case being prosecuted by the NDLEA.