Journalists covering the ongoing trial of the suspended DCP Abba Kyari and others were, on Tuesday, restrained from coming into Court 10 of the Federal High Court, Abuja, venue of the proceeding.
Justice Emeka Nwite gave the order following an application to the effect by Mr. Sunday Joseph, counsel for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
Joseph, a director of Legal and Prosecution Department of the NDLEA, had applied for the protection of the next witness listed to give evidence in the trial.
The lawyer prayed the court that other lawyers, litigants, visitors, including journalists, who were in the court should not be allowed to be in the courtroom while the hearing lasted.
Justice Nwite then stood down the matter to allow non-parties in the anti-narcotic suit against the suspended police officers move out.
When the judge came in for the matter, a lawyer, Emmanuel Oluwabiyi, whose case was on number 11 on the cause list, told Nwite that he was in the court for another matter.
Oluwabiyi said he observed that before the judge rose, counsel for the NDLEA made an application and it was directed that everybody in the courtroom, including the bar should step out because of the instant matter.
“The feedback I am getting is that when this matter is going to be made, no lawyer should be in. I am embarrassed by the application my lord”, he said.
Justice Nwite then pleaded with lawyers who were not in the Kyari’s matter to bear with the court in the interim as their matters too would be heard as soon as hearing was over.
“You can hang around. We are not going to take the matter throughout the whole day. Please bear with”, the judge responded when Oluwabiyi asked for the time to come back.
Another lawyer, Mr Ramiah Imhanaede, also aligned with Oluwabiyi’s submission.
When the newsmen asked the NDLEA’s lawyer on reason for the application, he said it was to give protection to the witnesses, who are intelligent officers, in the matter.
When asked about his reaction to the opinions of other lawyers in court, Joseph said “there is a doctrine of state privilege in the interest of national security”.
He said it had been observed that members of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team who were loyal to Mr. Kyari, were still coming to court. Therefore, such action is needed for the witness’ protection since no one knows “who is who”.
“We are now going into the nitty gritty of the matter and there have been allegations that we are just witch-hunting them”, he alleged.
Joseph said though the agency had been calling witnesses, he said the present witnesses cannot be exposed to the public.
The hearing is still ongoing as at the time of filing the report.
Justuce Nwite had, on March 22, dismissed an application filed by Kyari and three other co-defendants; ACP Sunday Ubia, Insp Simon Agirigba and Insp John Nuhu seeking an order dismissing the NDLEA’s charge against them.
They had prayed the court to quash the criminal charge against them, in fresh motions on notice filed by their lawyers on the grounds that the suit was incompetent.
They urged the court to stop their trial because they had not been subjected to the internal disciplinary action of the Nigeria Police Council and the Police Service Commission 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.
