Former Minister of Sports and leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Nigeria, Solomon Dalung, has called on President Bola Tinubu to grant an immediate release to suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari.
Dalung, who made the call in a statement on Tuesday, said Kyari’s continued detention despite recent presidential pardons was an injustice, especially when many of those pardoned were suspects earlier arrested by Kyari’s team.
“The Movement for the Emancipation of Nigeria observes with deep concern the continued detention and prosecution of DCP Abba Kyari despite recent presidential pardons extended to convicted drug traffickers, fraudsters, kidnappers, and bandits—many of whom were arrested by his team in the line of duty,” the statement read.
Kyari and six others were arraigned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in March 2022 for allegedly conspiring to tamper with and traffic 21.35 kilograms of cocaine seized from suspected traffickers.
Last week, President Bola Tinubu granted presidential pardons to 175 persons, including the late nationalist Herbert Macaulay, late Major General Mamman Vatsa, and Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death for killing her husband.
According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the clemency followed recommendations by the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
Dalung argued that continuing Kyari’s trial while granting amnesty to others undermined fairness in the justice system.
“The recent wave of presidential pardons has emptied the moral and legal basis for Kyari’s continued detention. His prosecution under such circumstances represents a double standard that undermines the integrity of Nigeria’s justice system,” MEN said.
The group described the situation as “institutional betrayal” against a man who once risked his life fighting crime across the country.
“Justice demands consistency, and equity demands that mercy must not be reserved for the guilty while punishment is sustained against the righteous,” Dalung added.
MEN therefore urged the President and the Attorney-General of the Federation to discontinue all charges against Kyari and ensure his immediate release, warning that failure to do so would discourage public officers from dedicating themselves to the fight against crime.
Kyari, who once headed the Police Intelligence Response Team, was arrested on February 14, 2022, after the NDLEA accused him of tampering with drug evidence. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
