The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has alerted the Nigerian public, and the international community what it described as “a coordinated campaign of calumny and deliberate misinformation being orchestrated by the handlers of the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Abba Kyari currently facing trial for drug trafficking offences.”

The rights group said in a statement issued on Wednesday, March 25, 2026: “Following an in-depth investigation into recent sponsored reports circulating on social media, which claim that two convicted drug traffickers have indicted officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) of complicity in the case, HURIWA can authoritatively confirm that these reports are a total fabrication and a clumsy attempt to subvert the course of justice.

“Our findings, backed by official court records and witness statements, reveal a starkly different reality from the narrative being pushed by Kyari’s camp. In their official witness statements, the convicted traffickers Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwanne categorically denied any contact or collusion with NDLEA officers at the Enugu airport in January 2022.

“The convicts confessed that their pictures and travel details were actually sent to Abba Kyari. Despite being on suspension at the time over another criminal case for which the United States government is still seeking his extradition to the US for trial, Kyari dispatched a team from Abuja to Enugu to intercept the traffickers for his own ends.

“The convicts have stated on record that while in Kyari’s custody, they were forced under duress to indict the NDLEA. The "video confession" currently being circulated was scripted, with Kyari’s men actively dictating what the suspects should say while recording.”

HURIWA in the statement signed by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, reminded the public; “that no amount of digital spin can erase the overwhelming evidence already admitted as exhibits in court. The world has seen the video of Abba Kyari handing over $61,400 to an NDLEA undercover agent. This cash was established to be the proceeds from the sale of part of the cocaine Kyari’s team seized from the very same convicts they are now trying to use as pawns.”

"It is pathetic that a high-ranking officer would resort to such low-level blackmail. This is a clear attempt to distract the public from the gravity of the drug trafficking charges. The U.S. government and the global community are watching this case closely. You cannot 'spin' your way out of a forensic sting operation," HURIWA said.

It added: “For the benefit of the public who they are struggling hard to confuse, the transcript of the conversation between Abba Kyari and an NDLEA undercover agent, already admitted as exhibit in court, clearly confirmed the transactional relationship and conspiracy between Kyari and members of the drug trafficking cartel. Here is a sampler from the conversation between Abba Kyari and NDLEA undercover agent:

“ABBA KYARI: Yes, they (Cartel) will reveal to me those that are conveying it (the drugs), snap their pictures and send to us. So, we already know their goods, picture and the clothes they're wearing, hope you understand, we know their names, they will give us everything. So, automatically the team will just be waiting, they will just see them and pick them up.

“NDLEA UNDERCOVER AGENT: But are your boys inside the airport or outside?

“ABBA KYARI: Yes, yes, some are outside while some are inside. They will just allow them to finish everything and arrest them the moment they come out.

“This tallied with the witness statements by the two already convicted Kyari’s co-accused. In the words of one of them, Chibunna Patrick Umeibe: “I traveled to Ethiopia, Addis Ababa on 10th of January 2022, then I stayed in a lounge at the airport and somebody called me on phone whose name I can’t remember that Jekwu gave him my number that he supposed to give me some stuff which is cocaine. He met me at the lounge and gave me the stuff which is inside the nylon bag, then later snapped my picture. Then that was on the 18th of January 2022 (after staying 8 days in the airport) he asked me to dress the way I will travel back before he snapped the picture. Then after snapping the picture he left. He knows the reason of snapping the picture, then on 19th of January I boarded to Nigeria. Immediately getting to the outside (Enugu international airport), a young man approached me and said that I should give him my international passport and I asked him what for? He bring out police ID card and showed me immediately and before I know, other police people some are on uniform while some are not on uniform, they surrounded me and pushed me and my brother inside a sienna car and zoomed off.”

“There’s therefore no doubt from the court records that the pictures of the convicts were taken by the cartel members at the Addis Ababa airport and sent to Abba Kyari to enable him identify the couriers. This is the only reason his officers were able to pick only the two couriers out of the multitude of people at the airport’s car park.

“HURIWA therefore calls on the Nigerian judiciary to remain undeterred by these subterranean moves to blackmail the prosecution. We urge the media to be professional and verify claims against official court transcripts before amplifying narratives that seek to shield alleged drug kingpins from accountability. The facts of the crime remain constant, no amount of sponsored falsehood will wish away the evidence of the $61,400 bribe or the documented betrayal of public trust.”

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