- Police boss affirms commitment to the course of justice
BY EDMOND ODOK – Tongues are already wagging that the Special Investigation Panel on Abba Kyari may have finally sealed the embattled Super Cop’s fate with the contents of its ‘damning’ probe report submitted to the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, in Abuja, on Thursday
Sources privy to the report said with all the evidence gathered against the suspended Head of the Police Intelligence Response Team, going to jail after prosecution looks quite likely except the powers that be decide to give him a soft landing on the case.
Chairman of the Panel, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Joseph Egbunike, further strengthened this position when he told the IGP while presenting the report at the Force Headquarters that their report “contained the case file of the probe, evidence, and findings as well as testimonies from DCP Abba Kyari and other persons and groups linked to the matter.”
A statement by the Force Public relations Officer, CP Frank Mba, captioned; “IGP RECEIVES NPF PANEL REPORT ON DCP ABBA KYARI, Reiterates Commitment to the Course of Justice” quoted DIG Egbunike as saying that “the report submitted is an outcome of a painstaking, transparent and exhaustive investigative process.”
The Chairman, who appreciated the IGP for the confidence reposed in him and the members of the panel, said investigations on the case commenced immediately after the Panel’s inauguration on August 2, 2021
According to the statement by the Police spokesman, IGP Alkali Baba, in commending the Panel for the work done, said; “the essence of the probe was to carry out discrete investigations into the allegation levied against the Officer to enable the Force leadership to be appropriately guided in its decision-making processes”.
The Police boss assured that “a careful and expeditious review of the recommendations would be undertaken by the Force Management Team and thereafter forwarded to appropriate quarters for necessary action(s)”.
He said as always, the Force remains committed to justice for all.
The NPF Special Investigation Panel (SIP) was set up by the Police hierarchy to probe the alleged indictment of the erstwhile Head of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), DCP Abba Kyari by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States.
In a document titled, ‘Criminal Complaint By Telephone Or Other Reliable Electronic Means’ filed before the United States District Court for the Central District of California, an FBI agent, Andrew Innocenti, had alleged that suspected fraudster, Abas Ramon, aka Hushpuppi, contracted Kyari to detain a co-conspirator, Chibuzo Vincent, for threatening to expose the alleged $1.1m fraud committed against a Qatari businessman.
The FBI’s document further alleged that Hushpuppi paid $20,600 into a bank account provided by Kyari. With the public outcry that followed the scathing allegations, the Police Service Commission (PSC) quickly suspended Kyari from service on July 31, 2021.
