A defence witness, Adeshina Fasasi, on Thursday told the Federal High Court in Abuja that there is no record linking suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, to any phone number associated with a suspected cocaine trafficker known as “Mike Coke.”
Testifying before Justice Emeka Nwite in the ongoing trial involving Kyari and others over alleged tampering with and dealings in 17.55 kilograms of cocaine, Fasasi, who identified himself as a team lead with the Incident Management Unit of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, said that analysis of Kyari’s call records revealed no contact with the said drug suspect.
Led in evidence by Kyari’s counsel, Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, the witness explained that his office routinely handles law enforcement-related requests and customer data queries. He confirmed that out of six mobile lines associated with Kyari, only one was officially registered in his name.
When asked if any number saved as “Coke” appeared in Kyari’s call logs, Fasasi responded, “From the number, I cannot find a number mentioned with the name.” He further clarified that MTN’s call data records (CDR) system does not display saved contact names, WhatsApp communications, or voice recordings — only call and SMS metadata, device types, and location data.
Fasasi stated that a specific number, 09136976496, tagged as “Coke” in a different section of the report, was registered to an individual named Ruth Ayuba — not to Kyari.
He also told the court that MTN does not retain or record the actual content of conversations between users, even when requested by law enforcement agencies.
During cross-examination by NDLEA’s lead prosecutor, Joseph Sunday, the witness admitted he is not a direct employee of MTN but part of a managed services team under contract with the company. He also conceded that he had not read the full report presented to the court and could not attest to every detail within it.
Justice Nwite adjourned further hearing in the matter until October 22 for continuation of the defence.
Kyari and four other police officers — Sunday Ubia, Bawa James, Simon Agirigba, and John Nuhu — are standing trial alongside two civilians, Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwanne, for allegedly tampering with and conspiring to deal in 21.35 kilograms of cocaine seized from traffickers in 2022.
While the police officers pleaded not guilty, the two civilians admitted guilt and entered a plea bargain with the NDLEA. They were sentenced to two years’ imprisonment in June 2022.
