Abba Kyari, the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, who is facing drug trafficking charges, has stated that he should be granted bail because he refused to escape with other inmates on the night terrorists attacked Kuje Prison in Abuja.

Kyari, through his counsel, Dr Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), asked the court on Wednesday to release him and his colleagues on bail pending the resolution of the charge brought by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

On July 5, terrorists launched an attack on Kuje Prison, resulting in the escape of approximately 879 inmates, including all 68 imprisoned Boko Haram members.

The attack was later claimed by fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

Kyari, dubbed ‘Supercop,’ testified in court that he and his imprisoned colleagues from the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) hid like rats on that fateful night.

He claimed that the prison attack created a “special and exceptional circumstance” that justified the court’s decision to release him and his men on bail.

“My lord, every living soul in this country will agree that there was not just a breach, but that there was a grand terrorist attack by an organization that not only successfully invaded the Kuje Prison, but took control of it for over three hours,” Ikpeazu said in court on behalf of his client, Kyari.

“However, as a law-abiding citizen, the applicant refused to leave.”

“If there is anything to show that the defendants will not flee, it is this circumstance.” The prison’s gates were left open for more than three hours.

“In fact, the defendant hid like a rat because the group that carried out the attack went from cell to cell, claiming they wanted to take him and the others to the desert.”

“I’m not sure where else in the world certified crime fighters who have risked their lives and abandoned their families to serve the country are kept in the same cubicle as the criminals who made their arrest possible, with some of them facing the death penalty.”

“These people have endured a lot. The events of that night have left them traumatized. You can imagine how it felt to see the attackers plant explosives throughout the prison.”