Abba Kyari, former head of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Nigerian Police, told the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday that the 20 houses the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) accused him of failing to declare as assets belonged to his late father.
Kyari, who is also facing a separate cocaine trafficking trial, said during cross-examination by the prosecution that the houses now belong to about 30 children of his late father.
“I cannot put my interest in the 20 houses in the asset form because they belonged to my father and not me. If I get my share, I can put my interest in it,” Kyari said while testifying as the first defence witness in the ongoing non-disclosure of assets trial.
When the prosecution counsel, Sunday Joseph, asked whether he declared any interest in the properties in his asset form, Kyari replied that he did not because “the assets did not belong to me.”
The suspended police officer told the court that some of the properties had been sold to fund his father’s medical bills.
“About four of the properties were sold then,” he said, adding that proceeds from some others were distributed to children who were in need.
Justice James Omotosho said the parties would later address the legal issue of whether a person is required to declare family properties in their personal asset forms during their final written addresses.
Kyari is standing trial alongside his brothers, Mohammed Kyari and Ali Kyari, on allegations of non-disclosure and concealment of assets. The case is separate from the cocaine trafficking trial he is also facing before another judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Both cases were filed by the NDLEA in 2022, with the agency accusing the Kyari brothers of failing to declare their assets, disguising ownership of properties, and laundering money traced to them—offences said to contravene Section 35(3)(a) of the NDLEA Act and Section 15(3)(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.
Kyari began testifying after the court dismissed the defendants’ no-case submission in October 2025.
Under further cross-examination, Kyari explained that he initially refused to fill out the asset declaration form given to him during NDLEA interrogation because his lawyers were not present.
He said he later changed his mind when an NDLEA officer informed him that refusal to complete the form was a criminal offence.
The prosecution tendered several bank documents as exhibits, which Kyari confirmed bore his name.
The former IRT boss told the court that he holds a B.Sc. in Geography and joined the Nigerian Police Force in May 2000. He served as the head of the special police unit, Intelligence Response Team (IRT), at the Force Headquarters in Abuja until his suspension in 2022.
After a series of questions, the prosecution requested an adjournment to obtain additional documents for further cross-examination. Justice Omotosho adjourned the case to November 12, 2025, for continuation.
The prosecution had earlier closed its case after calling 10 witnesses and tendering at least 20 exhibits.
During examination-in-chief by his lawyer, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), on Tuesday, Kyari denied ownership of several properties linked to him by the NDLEA, insisting they belonged to his late father.
He, however, admitted ownership of a farmland along the Abuja–Kaduna Road, which he said he had managed for over a decade.
Kyari also confirmed operating accounts with UBA, Access Bank, and GTBank, explaining that the £7,000 found in his domiciliary account had been duly declared in accordance with the law.
He said the funds in his accounts were payments from the police and some state governors for operational assignments.
When asked why some funds were transferred to relatives, Kyari said the money was repayment for loans he took from them to finance urgent police operations, as official funds often took long to process.
“Under my watch, the Anti-Robbery Squad and the IRT carried out over one thousand operations,” Kyari said, adding that funds were often sent to his account for disbursement and logistical support.
Alongside the asset declaration trial, Kyari and four IRT officers are also standing trial for cocaine trafficking, a case in which two co-defendants have already pleaded guilty and were convicted in June 2022.
In April 2025, the trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, ordered Kyari and his remaining co-defendants to open their defence.