IGP orders probe of Abba Kyari over ‘Hushpuppi’ fraud

• Nigerians react

The Inspector General of Po­lice (IGP), Usman Baba, has ordered an internal review of the allegations against Abba Kyari, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), over his alleged in­volvement in a $1.1 million bribe in­volving Ramon ‘Hushpuppi’ Abbas.

This is following a warrant of arrest against DCP Abba Kyari by Judge Otis Wright of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Wright ordered the Federal Bu­reau of Investigation (FBI) to track down Kyari and produce him in the United States for his role in the alleged fraud perpetrated by Hushpuppi. ­

According to IGP Baba, in a statement by CP Frank Mba, Force Public Relations Officer, “The Nigeria Police Force re­affirms its commitment to the pursuit of justice and the strengthening of its profes­sional relationship with the FBI and other international partners.

“Further developments on this case will be communicat­ed to members of the public accordingly.”

Abbas Hushpuppi was ar­rested in Dubai last June and he pleaded guilty to fraud in the U.S. this week. The FBI said Messrs. Abbas and Kyari have been friends and were both involved in a conspiracy to launder money.

Kyari was also indicted of receiving bribes from Abbas to arrest a member of the syn­dicate in Nigeria.

American prosecutors first sought a court warrant to arrest Kyari on February 12, 2021, according to court documents, while another warrant was requested on April 29, 2021.

Judge Wright’s permission for the FBI to arrest Kyari and hold him in U.S. custody was unsealed on July 26.

However, DCP Abba Kyari, in a statement, said he did not demand any money from Hushpuppi, adding that he introduced the accused to a cloth seller whom Hushpuppi paid about N300,000.

Kyari, who took to his verified Facebook page, said, “Hushpuppi called our of­fice about two years ago that somebody in Nigeria serious­ly threatened to kill his family here in Nigeria and he sent the person’s phone number and pleaded we take action before the person attacks his family.

“We traced and arrested the suspect and after investi­gations we discovered there wasn’t an actual threat to anyone’s life and they are longtime friends who have money issues between them hence we released the suspect on bail to go and he was not taken to any jail.

“Nobody demanded for a kobo from Abbas Hushpuppi. Our focus was to save people’s lives that were purported to have been threatened.

“Later, he saw some of my native clothes and caps on my social media page and he said he likes them and he was connected to the person selling the clothes and he sent about N300k directly to the person’s account. The native clothes and caps (5 sets) were brought to our office and he sent somebody to collect them in our office.

“Nobody demanded any money from Abbas Hush­puppi and nobody collected any money from him. We re­sponded to a distress call he made on threat to his family and released the suspect when we discovered there was no life threat from the suspect. This is the true story. Vincent is alive, he can be contacted.

“For those who are cele­brating that this is an indict­ment on us and mentioning some fictitious big money, they will be disappointed once again as our hands are clean and our record of service for two decades is open for every­body to see. They will contin­ue seeing us serving our fa­ther land and we will continue responding to all distress calls from all Nigerians provided they are life-threatening.

“For Good Nigerians who appreciate our service please don’t worry as our hands are clean and they should please not respond to those celebrat­ing and creating many false narratives without any evi­dence. We are used to such types of people and false news makers and distributors.

“Thank you all and God bless Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded a forensic investi­gation into reports that the United States (US) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has linked head of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Intel­ligence Response Team, DCP Abba Kyari, to international fraudster, Abbas Ramon, pop­ularly known as Hushpuppi.

The party, in a statement by its spokesman, Kola Olog­bondiyan said, “The revela­tion of the involvement of Kyari, the head of Nigeria’s intelligence response unit, as a receiver of proceeds of international fraud is worri­some, disturbing and a stain on the integrity of our nation.

“It is indeed disquieting that the integrity of our na­tion has fallen so abysmally low under the corrupt and fraud-patronizing President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration, to the extent that the head of its po­lice intelligence unit is being charged in connection with international fraud.

“Our party demands that the APC administration should not sweep this matter under the carpet given the manifest rapport between Kyari and some top APC leaders.

“We urge President Buhari not to ‘ease out’ this case of corruption but should imme­diately restore the integrity and image of our nation by allowing for a forensic inves­tigation on the suspect.”

The PDP noted that if this Abba Kyari matter is not well handled, it will be a perma­nent stain on the reputation of the police, security system and the nation at large.

The PDP, therefore, asked President Buhari to direct the Inspector General of Police to take in Abba Kyari for questioning and if found culpable, he should be handed over to the FBI.

Monday Ubani, former second vice president, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), has said that the fraud case involving Ramon ‘Hushpuppi’ Ab­bas in which Deputy Commis­sioner of Police Ababa Kyari was linked should involve a judicial process for the police officer to be extradited to the United States.

He said, “Hushpuppi has pleaded guilty to the offence that he was alleged to have committed and if there is any incriminating evidence against Abba Kyari, it is so unfortunate because he is one of the finest police offi­cers we have in this country. It will involve a legal process. Kyari cannot just be taken and dumped in America. If he is going to be extradited it will involve a judicial process. He cannot be abducted; they will need to follow the normal process and procedure. They will have to produce evidence to say why they need him. It is not going to be that simple, a judicial process must be fol­lowed, except the police offi­cer wants to go to the United States to clear himself, if he doesn’t want any time to be wasted, that will be another option”.

In his reaction, President of the African Bar Asso­ciation (AFBA), Hannibal Uwaifo, said the first thing that should be asked is if Ni­gerian government has an ex­tradition treaty with the Unit­ed States and if the offence committed is considered an offence in Nigeria.

According to him, the Fed­eral Government must do a proper investigation and if the allegation is true, it has no right to keep the person that has been indicted, because it will only do Nigeria more harm.

“The FBI can also send the documents that indicted Kyari to the appropriate au­thorities and once the allega­tions are found to be true he should be handed over to the FBI immediately, else the gov­ernment will also be encour­aging international crime and will also be covering up crime”, Uwaifo noted.

Also reacting, Inibehe Ef­fiong, a Lagos based lawyer and human rights activist, said: “I don’t think a formal extradition request has been made. What I understand is that the US District Court is­sued a warrant for his arrest and that is different from ex­tradition. Because an extra­dition is a diplomatic matter and the warrant of arrest cannot be executed in Nigeria except there is an extradition process and of course that will have to be approved by the court before a Nigerian can be extradited.

“The point is the merit of the allegation. The U.S. is not a country that just makes al­legations just for making sake and I do not believe that they have any personal interest in him. If you read through the court documents, you will see that the allegations are not baseless and he will have to respond to it. I have read his response though but I did not find it convincing and satis­factory.

“A police officer of his status should not be seen associating with every ‘Tom, Dick and Harry’. He should not be seen with people of questionable wealth. He should answer any form of indictment against him. So if there is a formal extradition request that has been made by the U.S., it’s not out of place for him to be extradited. I am not bothered about the sen­timents but what is import­ant is what this will do to the image of the country which is already battered. This will only further ruin the reputa­tion of the country, so Abba Kyari should defend himself. “Meanwhile, this is not the first time this kind of alle­gation is being made against him and his agency is noted for arresting people indis­criminately. For me, Kyari is not a saint and if this is an op­portunity for the country to review his activities, I believe it is a welcome development and if we are really serious about police reform, maybe this is an opportunity to pur­sue it. If truly there is an extradition request, the government should obey it because I know that the U.S. will not just make such request without proof.”