The case reported by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) against the Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP, Abba Kyari, who was suspended, has initiated with the first witness who testified in court on Monday, July 18.
The case took place in the Federal High Court in the Abuja State of Nigeria, during which the drug trafficking case witnessed the agency bring in a Commander of Narcotics linked to its forensic unit, Patricia Afolabi, to attest as its first witness.
Afolabi told the court that her job also requires her to receive and conduct forensic analysis on drug exhibits.
She revealed that on February 7, 2022, she received a sealed transparent evidence pack comprising 24 dispensing packs each from Abubakar Aliyu, the forensic liaison officer of the agency.
As per her, each of the packs comprised a white substance of around 0.5 grams, and the packages also had a request form for their analysis.
She said that, from the analysis that she conducted, which she labelled exhibits A-X, she found that 21 of the packs had cocaine, while exhibits H to G were found negative.
Afolabi stated that she then issued an analysis report of her findings, which she signed and sealed. She repacked them in a large packet and addressed them to O.C. NDLEA Abuja.
The court accepted all exhibits in evidence without any objections from the defendants.
While the cross-examination was being done, she stated that it wasn’t customary for suspects to be present when substances are handed over for checking.
She stated that she wasn’t present when the drug was recovered. She wasn’t present when NDLEA got it.
She said that she didn’t know who had recovered the substance. I didn’t come in contact with anyone.
The case was then adjourned till Tuesday, July 19, so that the counsel to the defendants could cross-examine the witness.
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