Abba Kyari: What police authorities didn’t tell Nigerians

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Why police authorities couldn’t touch ‘super cop’
How Kyari continued discreet, illegal operations through former deputy

Uba Group

BY ROTIMI DUROJAIYE, TIMOTHY AGBOR, AGNES NWORIE, MAYOWA SAMUEL AND BRIGHT JACOB

Last week, the Police Service Commission suspended Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sunday Ubua, and Assistant Superintendent of Police, James Bawa for the roles they played in the alleged cocaine deal that led to the arrest of suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari.

The Head, Press and Public Relations, PSC, Ikechukwu Ani, who made this known in a statement he issued in Abuja, said the officers had been suspended from exercising powers and functions of their respective offices with effect from Monday, February 14, 2022.

According to Ani, the suspended ACP and ASP were working under Kyari in the Intelligence Response Team of the Force Investigation and Intelligence Department.

“They were also alleged to be involved in the current cocaine seizure and transferred to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency,” he said.

The Commission’s decision, the PSC’s spokesman added, was contained in a letter to the Inspector General of Police, dated February 16, 2022 and signed by Hon. Justice Clara B. Ogunbiyi, retired Justice of the Supreme Court and Honourable Commissioner 1 in the Commission for the Honourable Chairman, Alhaji Musiliu Smith, retired Inspector General of Police.

The PSC also directed the Inspector General of Police to note that DCP Abba Kyari, who prior to this allegation was on suspension, would remain so until the conclusion of investigations.

From being indicted in 2021 for aiding the fraudster, Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi, he has now been allegedly caught red-handed and neck-deep in international drug trafficking by agents of the NDLEA and he is finally in their custody. The sordid affair is still unfolding before a shocked national and global audience.

The drama came into public glare on Monday when the NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, addressed a news conference in Abuja, where he dropped the bombshell that Kyari, a deputy commissioner of police, had been ensnared in a sting operation while aiding and abetting drug trafficking.

Kyari had allegedly sought to bribe NDLEA operatives, tamper with exhibits, and facilitate collusion with drug traffickers, Babafemi said.

“With the intelligence at our disposal, the agency believes strongly that DCP Kyari is a member of a drug cartel that operates the Brazil-Ethiopia-Nigeria illicit drug pipeline…,” he declared.

Consequently, the NDLEA declared Kyari wanted. Shortly afterwards, the Nigeria Police Headquarters issued a statement, saying IGP Alkali Baba had ordered an investigation into the matter. Crucially, it said the Force had arrested Kyari and four other officers and handed them over to the NDLEA.

“The police report on Kyari which was submitted to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, had concluded that the conduct of the police officer violated the law and code of conduct for law enforcement officers”

How Kyari violated the law

The police report on Kyari, which was submitted to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, revealed that Kyari had serially violated the law and code of conduct for law enforcement officers.

The report, obtained by The Point, maintained that the embattled officer violated the law and the code of law enforcement officers in his dealings with internet fraudster, Ramon Olarewaju aka Hushpuppi, adding that a total of N279.120m flowed into Kyari’s younger brother’s bank account at various times.

The police report frowned at Kyari’s conduct in “hobnobbing with suspected fraudsters and people of questionable means in his capacity as a senior police officer and the head of the IRT.

“He had also violated the provisions of the Social Media policy (SMP) for the Nigeria Police Force by responding to the FBI’s indictment on his Facebook page without recourse to laid down procedure and also by his admission of broadcasting pictures and video clips to his contacts on social media.

“Similarly, he violated the Nigeria Police Code of Professional Ethics by accepting complaints without recourse to established protocols.

“The officer again violated the Code of Professional Ethics and the Nigeria Police Act 2020 by detaining Vincent Kelly Chibuzor for over a month in the cell without valid court order, without due regards to his fundamental human rights.”

The report cited the advice of the AGF, which said that a prima facie case was established against him.

It stated, “That there exists prima facie case of conspiracy, collaboration, receipt, conversion, transfer and/or retention of proceeds of unlawful activities, contrary to the provision of Section 15, 17 &18 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2004 and Section 17 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, against DCP Abba Kyari and other suspects in view of the overwhelming evidence showing the nature of his disguised financial transactions and activities with Abbas Hushpuppi, Efe Martins, Usman Ibrahim Weaziri, Sikiru Adekoya, Hussaini Ala and Sharon Festus who are all confirmed members of international internet fraud network.

However, The Point gathered that unknown to the police hierarchy, Kyari was still calling the shots at the IRT despite the fact that DCP Tunji Disu had been detailed by the IG to take over the unit.

Police sources said that Kyari was still carrying out discreet and illegal operations through his then deputy, who was as well seconded to Disu, when he assumed office.

A senior officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity said when Ubua was questioned by the Inspector-General of Police, he said he was forced to obey orders from Kyari, because the suspended DCP assured him he would soon be reinstated by the force.

Some former Commissioners of Police who also spoke on the condition of anonymity frowned on the involvement of Kyari in what they considered a high crime.

One of them, who could not hide his consternation, said, “His action is the height of indiscipline. He has been on suspension and as such, did not have any right to meddle in any investigation or police work, pending when he would be exonerated.

“Besides, the Police Service Commission instituted another panel to investigate his indictment by Hushpuppi. Was he expected to have been involved in any police work? Perhaps, he felt he was untouchable and that nobody, not even the IGP or chairman of the Police Service Commission could tell him what to do. But he forgot that a Police job is not a family affair. I repeat, his action is the height of indiscipline for a cop of his rank. What an unfortunate way to go.”

Another retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, challenged the Police hierarchy and NDLEA to go after senior policemen, both serving and retired, as well as politicians, who are suspected to be behind Kyari’s excesses.

He said, “DCP Kyari’s display of disregard for constituted authority shows he has people backing him in the Police and the powers of the day. Police and NDLEA should go after these people, even if they are ex-IGPs. This was not the Police we left.

“I won’t be surprised if there have been pressures on the NDLEA from different quarters. But the good thing is that the issue is in the public domain and Nigerians await how events will unfold.”

Another retired AIG told The Point, “The Force is at a terrible crossroad at the moment. How did DCP Kyari think for a moment that he would be reinstated after the FBI fiasco? Who was giving him such assurance? It was a stunned IG, who heard that he kept assuring his boys that DCP Disu would be removed and he would be reinstated.

“That, however, does not exonerate ACP Ubua, who should know better than to place loyalty to man over the police force he pledged to serve. The only good thing that came out from this was that the IG finally signed the appeal by DCP Disu to allow him raise his own team and not use those inherited from his predecessor.”

“DCP Kyari’s display of disregard for constituted authority shows he has people backing him in the Police and the powers of the day. Police and NDLEA should go after these people, even if they are ex-IGPs. This was not the Police we left”

A former Nigerian Ambassador to the Philippines, Yemi Farounbi decried the corrupt practices in the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies, saying it was sad that security personnel had now become criminals.

He advocated stiffer penalties for any security agent caught in illegal activities, adding that the recruitment process into the security agencies should be overhauled.

Speaking exclusively with The Point, Farounbi said, “It’s very sad that those who are appointed and paid from the public purse, to protect the public from criminals are themselves becoming great criminals. It’s true that not all of them who serve in the security agencies are criminals. However, what has become worrisome is the fact that an increasing number of these security agents are taking advantage of their privileged positions to commit and perpetuate crimes. And this trend must be arrested quickly before it threatens the very existence of the society they are employed to protect.

“When policemen stand by the roadside to collect tolls or bribes from commercial drivers, we blame it on the poor salaries they are paid. But when senior security officers collude with fraudsters, criminals and 419s to commit high level frauds that can sabotage our economy, it’s no longer a case of poor salaries. It reflects the inordinate ambition of Nigerians to acquire wealth from legitimate and illegitimate sources. It indicates a growing desire of Nigerians to adopt the get- rich- quick methods, and the senior security officers have caught the flu.

“It is sad, the Nigerian society has become so weak that it has abandoned the age-long and honoured virtues and values on the altar of vulgar and ill-gotten wealth. The Nigerian society no longer extols the basic values and virtues of good citizenship. Nigerians now worship money, no matter the source.”

Giving reasons corruption and fraud is high, Farounbi said “They want to ride vehicles much beyond their legitimate incomes. They want to be celebrated and worshipped as rich people. They therefore manipulate their offices and the powers therein to acquire illegitimate wealth.

“They do this because both the state and society appear unwilling and unable to deal with such criminals when they are caught. They have seen our collective inability to deal decisively with looters of our public wealth. They have seen how uncaring the judicial processes are in dealing with criminals and looters.”

Proffering solutions to the ugly trend, the former Ambassador said, “Society must re-examine itself and restore our basic love for our intrinsic African values of good name and integrity. The society must retreat from its continuing celebration of wealth, as the single criterion for defining importance, relevance and significance in the society.

“Nobody must be allowed to use legal technicalities to enjoy the fruits of crimes. That’s what the incumbent President Duertete of the Philippines has been doing so that people will know that nobody will any longer benefit from the dividends of crimes.

“Government must think of enacting laws that will make it possible to ask questions from those living vulgarly opulent lives above their legitimate sources of income and wealth.”

“The recruitment process into the security agencies must be overhauled. It must lay emphasis more on examination of the character traits of the applicants. Punishment meted to offending security officers must be made stiffer and more stringent than for ordinary citizens. The same must be done for politically exposed persons,” he recommended.

Also, a lawyer, J.P. Jones, attributed the rot in the security agencies to politicisation of security forces among other sectors in the country. He said Nigerian security agencies would continue to remain in shambles if there were no serious efforts at taming corrupt practices in the system.

Jones said no one was safe in Nigeria as security operatives appeared to be above the law.

He said, “The rot in the security agencies in Nigeria has become so alarming that it will take a determined system to find a lasting solution to it. It has degenerated into a state that every security officer seeks opportunity to, not just enrich himself, but to even go about establishing illicit business. You can see for instance what happened in Port-Harcourt where civil defence officers and police officers were involved in the act of illegal refinery. It’s very pathetic.

“That of Abba Kyari, which we had been celebrating thinking he is the Messiah of the Nigeria Police as he was branded ‘Super cop’ has become an eye-opener and the funniest thing is that he (Kyari) is not doing it alone, he has some back-ups and the whole thing goes down to one thing, and that’s politicisation of everything. Politics has eaten deep into every fibre of the nation, including the security agencies. No one is safe.

“The police can just accost you on the road and in a guise to conduct their stop-and-search, they would do the ungodly. So, it’s a pathetic situation and we pray to find the right person who has the right minds for Nigerians to place the right people at the right place for checks and balances.”

Speaking to The Point, Ebonyi State Coordinator of National Human Rights Commission, Onyekachi Okorie, x-rayed the relationship between security agents and the populace, saying civilians’ rights were being violated with impunity by security agents.

He said, “The problem of the Nigeria Police Force and other law enforcement agencies with regard to their relationship with the Nigerian civil society has its roots in the fundamental problem of Nigeria and its operational system. Nigeria is a country where individuals are more powerful than established institutions. Therefore, the modus operandi and unwritten law is nothing but a monumental impunity.

“Excesses of some personnel of the law enforcement agencies or other public or private establishments is public knowledge. Citizens endure violations and humiliations of their rights and curl inward for fear of being singled out, marginalised and violated the most.

“The end result is that aggrieved citizens bottle their anger and wait for moments of revenge by unfortunately taking laws into their own hands. That brings us exactly to what happened during #EndSARS protest and how the government handled it. Till now, most states of the federation that established the panel of judicial enquiry to investigate law enforcement excesses, have not released a white paper on the findings of the Panel of Judicial Enquiry on Police brutality.

“Most states have not paid the recommended compensations to families of victims of law enforcement brutality and excesses. Most states have not sanctioned indicted officers who are still in the service, probably still committing the same offence.

“Rather than bring solutions to the crimes of law enforcement excesses, some states in the South East region formed state security outfits that are already carrying out similar security excesses like torture, extra judicial killings as witnessed in a viral video as perpetrated by some members of Ebubeagu of Ebonyi State. This casts serious doubts on the sincerity of government to end whatever led to the protest against SARS and other violations from law enforcement agents.”

Board Chairman of Anambra State based Civil society organization, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Inter Society), Emeka Umeagbalasi, told The Point that “The stark truth is that the Nigeria Police Force is corrupt and crude when it comes to modern day global policing. The NPF is terminally sick. This is to the extent that nine and a half out of every ten Nigeria Police Officers are corrupt and crude. In the NPF, corruption and crudity are like twin brothers. There is hardly any senior police officer in the country today that lives within the confines of his or her remunerations. Most, if not all of them survive on thievery and crude modus operandi.

“For instance, in confessional statements, they prefer use of torture and inflicting other forms of body injuries and pains instead of applying skilled mental approaches and using modern techniques in criminal investigations. Torture is bribery and corruption friendly as suspects can easily bribe their way out of torture and because torture is money spinning, police officers engage in indiscriminate and reckless frame-ups including tagging suspects as ‘armed robbers and kidnappers’ so as to get them into coughing out hundreds of thousands or millions of naira so as to avoid being tortured to death. The security agencies generally should police themselves by being patriotic to their core mandates, having in mind that there is no place like home, Nigeria is our home.”

Abakaliki based legal practitioner, Luke Nkwegu, said,” There is decay in Nigeria police as well as other security agencies operating in Nigeria. But that decay is not basically on security agencies, rather it emanated from the larger society to that sector. That of police became very obvious considering the sensitive position they occupy in securing lives and properties. The corruption started from people at the helm of affairs. Police generally and in Ebonyi State have in recent times performed below standard. They have become tools of operation. They have become threats to the lives under their care for protection.”

However, the Administrative Secretary of the National Parents Teachers Association of Nigeria, Ibrahim Ya’u Nabayi, put the blame of whatever is wrong with the Police in the country at the doorstep of the citizens. He said Nigerians believe that “everything” depends on the government. He argued that only Nigerian citizens can actually police the police.

“It is the Nigerian citizens (that can police the police). The bane of our problems in Nigeria is that we allow and believe that everything lies with the government. But who is the government? Is it not you and me?” he asked.

Continuing, he said, “When you look at the true meaning of democracy, it’s the government of the people, by the people and for the people. I don’t think you have any other definition of democracy better than this. So, when the government does something, it’s up to the people to ensure that they hold government officials accountable.

Nabayi also said government officials get away with a lot of misconduct. Using the Power Holding Company of Nigeria to drive home his point, he said “What is happening with the security agencies that are meant to police us is just a typical example of what’s happening with PHCN. They would bring exorbitant bills without coming to read your meter, and you will still go and pay. When the transformer is faulty, and you complain, they will not fix it. People who benefit from the transformer are the ones who will eventually gather money and give the same PHCN officials to come and fix it. Who is the fool in that transaction?” he asked.

Nabayi noted that when a security agent, such as a policeman errs, certain fundamental questions that would help to address the situation should be asked. He observed that the glory days when policemen were treated well were far gone.

“The Police are humans, and that’s why there’s the law. If the policeman errs in a certain situation, the question is why and how? Has the government provided all he needs for him to work with? Has he been properly treated? Is his salary commensurate with the risks he is exposed to? Is his family secured? How prompt is he being paid salaries? What is the welfare package in the police force? I think that apart from those policemen attached to VIPs, you hardly see a police officer well treated like we used to know in the past,” he noted.

Nabayi, who is also the General Secretary of the Kaduna State chapter of the Parents Teachers Association, said nowadays we see policemen “wearing canvass to the office, on top of their stockings, and what have you. Sometimes they buy their belts from the “okrika” market. Is the policeman supposed to buy the belt for himself? What about the beret? No vehicle for him to move around with. When you go to the police station, you will hate being there because of the smell.”

Nabayi remarked that the police officers were also humans who were working to protect the citizens, and that our hands should “thumb up” for them. He noted that sometimes the governments are the ones who give room for corruption.

“We are not saying that we’re encouraging corruption. Sometimes, the government gives room for corruption, and the typical nature of humans is that when he gets an opportunity, he capitalises on it. Government has to be up and doing, and the people themselves being policed must also police the police. When the people see evil, they must always speak up,” he said.

When Nabayi was informed that most of the challenges confronting the police he listed were usually common with file, and that Abba Kyari was a senior officer caught red-handed with video evidence of him negotiating a drug deal as proof, he said he would not want to comment on Kyari’s case because it was still under investigation.

“With unresolved allegations of gross misconduct pending against him, the latest accusation coming from no less than the NDLEA linking him with drug cartels has sealed Kyari’s reputation as an expert in running with the hare and hunting with the hounds”

According to him, it was still an allegation, and the case against the suspended police officer hadn’t been proven in a court of law yet.

“Video evidence does not mean conviction. Was Ganduje (Governor of Kano State) not videoed collecting money and putting in his “babaringa”? What happened to him? I’m not siding with any corrupt practice because I’m a victim of corruption.”

“If they’re not corrupt in this country, my “commission” would have been better off than what it is today. My children would have gone to better schools, in air conditioned classrooms, with laptops in their hands, if not for the effects of corruption in this country. So, I am a victim of corruption, likewise you, too; and what has the government done about cases like that of Ganduje? So, I wouldn’t want to comment on Kyari’s case because it’s still under investigation. When you comment, you’re indicting yourself,” he concluded.

In his intervention, Navy Captain Tunji Shelle (rtd) said “The Kyari saga is very unfortunate. It is a reflection of systemic breakdown of law and order.

“The Police authority is to blame in all this because it’s not all brilliant officers that should be given sensitive appointments. Kyari is a betrayal of the trust reposed in him.

“In the first instance, Kyari must have exhibited traits of a criminal while in training and while being a junior officer in the service. He could have been properly and rightly censored to know that his character traits could not handle the office of the Head of the intelligence corps in the Police.

“The question is what the lifestyle of Abba Kyari is and who his friends are. He has always been hobnobbing with criminals and the Police failed to call him to order or find a way of easing him out of the system. Rather the complicit society and the police authority continued to celebrate him. Some senior officers must have been benefiting from the greed of Abba Kyari hence they turned their eyes away from his excesses and the bad company he kept while in the police.

“Can Abba Kyari defend his assets and his lifestyle? The Nigerian Police and the rotten Nigeria society is to blame. Kyari is not alone in all these. A lot of heads should roll,” he said.
Nigerians are of the opinion that egardless of how the case ends, the entire Kyari saga exposes how deep corruption, impunity, incompetence, and criminality have corroded institutions and governance in Nigeria.

They said though it is true that under the law that Kyari and other suspects are presumed innocent until otherwise pronounced by the courts, his case smears mud on the Federal Government, the police, and the system.

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