Police query Kyari on panel’s report – No extradition request on ex-IRT boss, says IG

Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Justice Minister Abubakar Malami (SAN) has advised the police on the fate of embattled former Commander of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Abba Kyari.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Baba, who announced this yesterday, said the police authorities were awaiting the advice of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) on the probe report.

Baba spoke at the weekly briefing coordinated by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. He said the AGF advised the police to confront Kyari with the findings of the panel that investigated allegations that the embattled IRT commnader received gratification from and fraternised with an Instagram influencer, Abbas Ramon, popularly called Hushpuppi.

The police, he explained, had also submitted the findings to the SGF for vetting and advice.

Hushpuppi, 29, pleaded guilty to money laundering in a United States (U.S.) court on July 29, 2021.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), he contracted Kyari to detain a co-conspirator, Chibuzo Vincent, for threatening to expose the alleged $1.1 million fraud committed against a Qatari businessman.

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The agency also said Hushpuppi paid $20,600 into a bank account provided by Kyari.

When asked for an update on the reported FBI extradition request for Kyari, the IGP said he did not know a formal request but had read of such on social media.

Baba said: “I’ve not heard about it formally, but I have read it on social media that there was an extradition request. I’ve not seen it; I’ve not heard it formally. That is one.

“Two, when this issue of Kyari started, we took our own action by constituting a panel to look at the allegation that was made against the senior officer.

“The allegation was based on receiving gratification and also fraternising with Hushpuppi and his group and even receiving some instructions, and so forth.

“We looked into all these allegations by a committee that was set up and chaired by a DIG (Deputy IGP). We submitted our report to the SGF for vetting and advice on the findings we got from the investigation.

“We’ve just received legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General and we are working on it, on what to do next in terms of asking the officer to account for what we have gathered in the investigation and what we will do next. But as for extradition order, I have not received any, I’ve not heard of any.”

He pledged the assurances of the police to act on the advice of the AGF “to ask Kyari to account for what we have found out”.

Responding to a question on the disappearance of a journalist, Tordue Salem, the IGP said the case had been taken over by the Force Headquarters, under a unit with better capacity to handle it.

Baba also said the police had established the last place where the missing journalist was seen, the last person he met with and the last person he spoke to on phone before his disappearance.

He added that the matter was being given the needed attention.

The Nation