Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has revealed fresh details about the embattled Nigerian police officer, DCP Abba Kyari, hours after his suspension by Police Service Commission (PSC) following his indictment in an internet fraud case.
According ThePunch, FBI alleged that money laundering suspect, Abass Ramon, popularly known as Hushpuppi, paid N8m ($20,600) to Abba Kyari, to arrest and detain a co-conspirator–turned-rival, Chibuzo Kelly Vincent.
Federal authorities in the U.S. have been investigating Hushpuppi, 46, and his co-conspirators after their syndicate was busted in Dubai, New York and other top cities in June 2020.
It would be recalled that a document issued by the United States District Court for Central District of California and dated February 12, 2021, disclosed that Hushpuppi alleged that he paid bribe to Kyari to have one of his rival, Kelly Chibuzor Vincent arrested and jailed in Nigeria following a dispute over a $1.1 million scam (N583,300,000) of a Qatari businessperson.
According to the report, page 59, item 145 of the document stated that Kyari provided the account information for a bank account at a Nigerian bank in the name of a person other than himself.
It was stated that the FBI special agent, Andrew John Innocenti, made the allegation in the ‘criminal complaint by telephone or other reliable electronic means‘ filed before the United States district court for the central district of California.
The document detailed the events that led to the alleged payment, adding that Hushpuppi sent a message to Kyari on January 16, 2020, on WhatsApp.
It stated;
On January 16, 2020, Abbas sent a message to Kyari on WhatsApp, and then placed five calls to another phone number (+2348060733588) that was listed as ‘Abba Kyari.’ Call records show that the last three of the calls were answered and that one of the calls lasted more than two minutes.
Shortly after that, Abbas received a message from Kyari, confirming ‘We would pick him today or tomorrow.’ Abbas wrote, ‘I will take care of the team also after they pick him up.’ Kyari confirmed ‘Yes ooo.’” It further stated that based on the conversation described in paragraphs 143 to 145, Abbas planned to pay the Nigeria Police Force officers who arrested Chibuzo for that service.
The document alleged;
This was not the only time that Abbas arranged payments with Kyari. On May 20, 2020, Abbas sent Kyari transaction receipts for two transactions from accounts at Nigerian banks (GT Bank and Zenith Bank) of a person Abbas knew in the U.A.E.— a person also arrested with Abbas in Abbas’ apartment in the U.A.E. by Dubai police on June 9, 2020 — to the Nigerian bank accounts of another person in Nigeria.
The amounts on the transaction receipts totaled 8 million Nigerian Naira, which was approximately $20,600 based on publicly available exchange rate information.
The FBI document noted that;
Attempting to reason with Abbas, on January 18, 2020, Chibuzo recounted for Abbas all the assistance he had provided in the scheme to victimize the victim Businessperson, including creating the “power of attorney” document, devising a story to tell the victim Businessperson, and facilitating the creation of the “telephone banking” number and fake Wells Fargo website. “On January 20, 2020, Kyari sent to Abbas a biographical, identifying information for Chibuzo, along with a photograph of him. In a conversation immediately following, Abbas confirmed, ‘that is him sir.”
Meanwhile, MDB previously reported that Kyari might appear before the special panel probing his alleged involvement in an internet fraud this week.
It was reported that the Police Service Commission on Sunday, August 1, suspended Kyari, from service in line with the recommendation by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, on Saturday, July 31.
The PSC stated that Kyari will be under suspension until the investigation over his indictment by United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) completes.
