After being remanded in jail detention on Monday, March 27, Abba Kyari is said to be rejecting meals provided by the Nigerian Correctional Service.
The Federal High Court in Abuja refused bail to the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, who is facing drug trafficking charges.
Justice Emeka Nwike, the trial judge, then ordered NDLEA to transfer Kyari and the four other police officers on trial to jail detention.
Abba Kyari has refused to consume jail meals during his detention, preferring instead to eat food made by his wife or other family members.
According to Punch, Kyari and his co-defendants have settled into the correctional centre, although insiders say the DCP has generally kept to himself since his arrival on Monday.
According to the magazine, Kyari’s presence has sparked some enthusiasm among the detainees, some of whom were probed by the IRT under the DCP for different offences.
As one cop put it: “We suspected he wouldn’t be able to consume the cuisine supplied here. So it came as no surprise when he chose food made by his wife or other family members.
“His presence, on the other hand, has sparked interest in the facility. Many detainees who have interacted with him and those who have heard about his pending trial have been debating how a senior police officer like him was detained in Kuje, where some of the people he investigated are also doing time.”
According to Francis Enobore, a spokesman for the NCoS, convicts facing prosecution have the right to consume meals provided by their family members, but they are also allowed to furnish their own food.
According to him, “Our law permits us to ask any detainee who intends to self-feed to submit a formal application to the detention centre’s officer in charge. The applicant will make arrangements with anyone he likes to deliver meals for him, subject to the consent of the authority in charge.
“The caveat is that if the person fails to bring food, he would not be fed from the service’s kitchen. Again, whoever is bringing his food; it is compulsory the person tastes the food in the presence of the officer conducting the visit to ensure that the food is wholesome before passing it over to the inmate.”
