The Nigerian Police Service Commission, (PSC) has approved the suspension of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abba Kyari, from the service over bribery and fraudulent allegations made against him by a United States Court.
A statement by Mr Ikechukwu Ani, the Head of Press and Public Relations of the PSC, said on Sunday in Abuja that the Commission had also directed the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Usman Bala, to furnish it with information on development in the matter for further action.
Kyari, who was the Head, Intelligence Response Team ((IRT) of the Nigeria Police, was indicted by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
According to the statement, the approval for Kyari’s suspension followed a recommendation letter dated July 31 from Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police.
The statement added that the suspension took effect from July 31 and would subsist pending the outcome of the investigation in respect of his indictment by the FBI.
But local media reports on Monday said that Kyari was fingered in a bribery scandal involving a Nigerian, Ramon Abbas popularly known as Hushpuppi.
According to the reports, the United States District Court for the Central District of California said that the alleged international fraudster, Hushpuppi used Kyari to arrest and jail a co-conspirator, Chibuzo Vincent.
The US court alleged that the arrest was made after Vincent threatened to expose a $1 million fraud committed against a Qatari businessman.
Disturbed by the development, the Nigerian police chief ordered an “internal review of the allegations” against a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, by a United States Court.
According to the Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, the IGP’s directive is pending the outcome of an ongoing internal investigation of the embattled senior officer.
“The IGP, in his letter to the Police Service Commission, dated 31st July 2021, noted that the recommendation for the suspension of the officer is in line with the internal disciplinary processes of the Force,” the statement said.
The suspension is to “create an enabling environment for the NPF Special Investigation Panel to carry out its investigations into the weighty allegations against DCP Abba Kyari without interference”.
“The suspension is without prejudice to the constitutional presumption of innocence in favour of the officer,” Mba said,
Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Panel (SIP), consisting of four senior police officers, has been set up and it is headed by the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigations Department (FCID), Joseph Egbunike, to undertake a detailed review of all the allegations against DCP Abba Kyari by the US Government as contained in relevant documents that have been availed the Nigeria Police Force by the FBI.
The panel is also expected to obtain a detailed representation of Kyari to all the allegations levelled against him, conduct further investigations as it deems fit, and submit recommendations to guide further actions by the Force Leadership on the matter.
GIK/APA