Bitter Consequences of Abba Kyari’s Suspension Hoax

BRIEFINGNOTES

Nigeria was subjected to another international embarrassment with the recent revelation that the erstwhile Head of the Inspector General of Police’s Intelligence Response Team, DCP Abba Kyari, used his alleged rogue law enforcement team to execute drug deals when the Nigeria Police claimed that he was on suspension following his indictment by the FBI. Ejiofor Alike writes that the police top hierarchy’s tardiness in handling his alleged involvement in heinous crimes has exposed the apparent culpability of the leaderships of some security agencies in turning Nigeria into a crime scene

Nigerians were shocked when news broke out in July 2021 that the Head of the Inspector General of Police’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Mr. Abba Kyari, a deputy commissioner of police (DCP), was involved in a $1.1million Internet scam carried out by an Instagram influencer, Abbas Ramon, aka Hushpuppi, and four others.

Kyari was indicted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), which recommended that he should be extradited to the US to face trial.

The Dubai Police in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had in June 2020 arrested Hushpuppi and his gang. They were later extradited to the US for prosecution by the FBI.

The FBI Special Agent, Mr. Andrew Innocenti, had alleged that Hushpuppi contracted the services of Kyari after an alleged co-conspirator, Mr. Chibuzo Vincent, allegedly threatened to expose the alleged $1.1million fraud committed against a Qatari businessman.

Innocenti, who said he obtained voice calls and WhatsApp conversations between Kyari and Hushpuppi, had also revealed that the alleged fraudster paid the police officer N8 million or $20,600 for the arrest and detention of Vincent.

Kyari had rushed to Facebook on July 29, 2021 to deny the allegations, but he later deleted the post after editing it about 12 times.

The IG, Usman Baba had recommended the suspension of Kyari, which the Police Service Commission (PSC) carried out on July 31, 2021.

The police boss had on August 2, 2021, constituted the Special Investigation Panel headed by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigations Department, Joseph Egbunike, to probe the allegations.

Egbunike on August 26, 2021 submitted the panel’s report, which he said “is an outcome of a painstaking, transparent and exhaustive investigative process.”

The Minister of Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi, had on September 14, 2021, during a television interview said the findings and recommendations on Kyari had been submitted to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), for his legal opinion and thereafter for presentation to President Muhammadu Buhari, adding that the final decision would be taken by the PSC.

But it took over six months after receiving the report of the Egbunike-led probe panel, before the police authorities forwarded its disciplinary recommendations to the PSC.

The tardiness in handling the case had fuelled speculations that the police authorities wanted to shield Kyari from facing the US justice system.

The recommendation by the police high command for mere demotion of Kyari from DCP to the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) also raised concern that the IG and his team wanted to treat the indicted cop with kid gloves, despite the gravity of his alleged offence.

The police investigative team was said to have also recommended that Kyari should not be extradited to the US to clear his name.

The apparent failure of the police to recommend severe disciplinary actions to the officer whose alleged crime brought shame to the Nigerian Police and the country, had forced the PSC to order the IG to conduct a fresh probe.

The PSC had announced that it had deferred its decision on the case involving Kyari and ordered the Nigeria police to conduct a fresh investigation on the embattled cop with a different panel and conclude its investigation in two weeks.

Speaking at its 14th Plenary Meeting in Abuja, the Chairman of the commission, Mr. Musiliu Smith, explained that PSC would not take any decision on the embattled cop until a report on further investigation is received.

However, barely 72 hours after the PSC gave the fresh directive, Nigerians were greeted with rude shock following a revelation that Kyari was performing his official duties with his alleged rogue team, which he used to execute drug deals, when the authorities claimed that he was on suspension.

A revelation made by the spokesman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mr. Femi Babafemi showed how Kyari initiated drug deals with an operative of the agency after he had sent his team to Enugu airport to arrest drug suspects.

Babafemi had on Monday given damning details of how the supposedly suspended Kyari offered NDLEA operatives a total of $61,400 cash and negotiated the release of 25kg seized cocaine.

He stated that a sting operation exposed Kyari as running an illicit drug syndicate.

He said: “The saga started on Friday, January 21, 2022 when DCP Kyari initiated a call to one of the NDLEA officers in Abuja at 2:12 pm. When the officer returned the call two minutes later, Kyari informed him he was coming to see him to discuss an operational matter after the Juma’at service.

“He appeared at the agreed venue of the meeting with the officer and went straight to the crux of the matter. This was it: His team had intercepted and arrested some traffickers that came into the country from Ethiopia with, according to him, 25kg of cocaine.

“He proposed a drug deal whereby he and his team are to take 15kg of the cocaine and leave 10kg for the prosecution of the suspects arrested with the illicit drug in Enugu.

“In the meantime, the purloined cocaine will be replaced with a dummy worth 15kg. He asked the NDLEA officer to persuade men of the FCT Command to play along as well.”

According to NDLEA spokesman, Kyari also narrated how acting on the tip-off, his team departed Abuja to Enugu and arrested the traffickers, removed part of the consignment on his instruction and replaced same with dummies

The fact that Kyari was still in control of the team he allegedly used to execute hatchet jobs during his suspension showed that the suspension was a hoax.

It was an indictment of the top hierarchy of the Nigeria Police as it has exposed the extent they can go to condone the rot in the system.

The mind-boggling revelation was a strong indication of the weak commitment of some heads of the country’s security agencies in the fight against crimes.

No wonder Nigerian has become a crime scene. Kyari was erroneously celebrated as super cop over the years. But the revelations over the past eight months have shown that the alleged secret atrocities his rogue law enforcement team perpetrated against innocent Nigerians and the Nigerian state outweighed the high-profile arrests and other accomplishments for which was widely celebrated with awards, accelerated promotions and commendations.

Kyari’s loyal and trusted team was allegedly audacious, deadly and dangerous as alluded to by the spokesman of the NDLEA, Mr. Femi Babafemi when he alleged threats to the lives of the operatives of the agencies involved in the investigation of Kyari and his officers.

Following the fresh embarrassment to Nigeria and the Nigeria police, he was said to have been arrested and handed over to the NDLEA, alongside four members of his team.

During his glorious days, Kyari would handcuff his victims and subject them to all manners of public humiliations to celebrate his exploits.

But nobody saw him in handcuff or any evidence of his arrest. Nigerians are also beginning to wonder if his arrest was another hoax like his purported suspension. But the stronger suspicion is the concern being raised that the purported arrest and indictment in drug deals was a ploy to shield him permanently from extradition. Indeed, the Nigeria Police need to do a lot of work to rebuild its battered image and restore public trust.