By Ben Ogbemudia and Linus Aleke
It was indeed a sad tale for the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, following his arrest and four other top police officers by the Nigeria Police Force and handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for interrogation over his involvement in illicit drugs transaction.
This is coming barely seven months after the United States District Court for the Central District of California indicted Kyari, who was a former Commander of Force Intelligence Response Team (IRT), in an ongoing prosecution of famous Nigerian Instagram celebrity, Raymond Abass, popularly known as Hushpuppi.
The highly decorated officer was indicted by a U.S. court as a conspirator in a $1.1 million fraudulent deal against a Qatari businessman. Following the indictment, the Police Service Commission (PSC) suspended Kyari from office as a deputy commissioner of police and head of the IRT.
However, his distress got worsened yesterday after the Nigeria Police Force arrested him alongside four other police officers for their involvement in an alleged case of criminal conspiracy, discreditable, unethical, and unprofessional conduct, official corruption, and tampering with exhibits in a case of illicit drug trafficking involving a perpetual transnational drug cartel.
The arrest of the officers was a sequel to pieces of information received from the leadership of the NDLEA on February 10, 2022. Deputy Public Relations Officers, Force Headquarters, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said in a statement in Abuja, that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), ordered the immediate transfer of the case to NDLEA.
He equally charged NDLEA to investigate indicted officers of the agency. Adejobi identified the arrested officers as DCP Abba Kyari, ACP Sunday Ubuah, ASP Bawa James, ASP John Umoru (at large), Inspr. Simon Agrigba and John Nuhu.
He noted that they have all been, accordingly, handed over today 14th February 2022 to the NDLEA authorities. The statement read in part, “In line with standard administrative procedure of the Force, the Inspector General of Police ordered a high-level, discreet, and in-house investigation into the allegations.
“The interim investigations report revealed that two international drug couriers identified as Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus, both males, were arrested at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu on January 19, 2022, upon their arrival from Addis Ababa aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight ET917.
“The arrest led to the recovery of a substantial quantity of powdery substance suspected to be cocaine from the two narcotic couriers. The intelligence-driven operation was undertaken by a Unit of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT).
“Although the case and the two suspects were subsequently transferred to the NDLEA on the 25th January 2022, the findings of the in-house investigation ordered by the Inspector General of Police established reasonable grounds for strong suspicion that the IRT officers involved in the operation could have been involved in some underhand and unprofessional dealings as well as official corruption which compromised ethical standards in their dealings with the suspects and exhibits recovered”.
The statement also said that “beyond this, the Police investigation also established that the international narcotics cartel involved in this case have strong ties with some officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu who are on their payroll.
“The two arrested drug couriers confirmed that the modus is for the transnational drug barons to conspire with the NDLEA officers on duty and send them their pre-boarding photographs for identification, seamless clearance, and unhindered passage out of the airport with the narcotics being trafficked.
“The two arrested drug couriers also confirmed that they have been enjoying this relationship with the NDLEA officers at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport since 2021 and had in this instant case of 19th January 2022, been identified and cleared by the NDLEA officers as customary, having received their pre-departure photographs and other details before they arrived in Enugu, and were on their way out with the narcotics when they were apprehended by the Police.”
The Police spokesperson said that the report of the investigation also indicted Kyari, who had been on suspension for his alleged involvement in a different fraud case being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
ThisNigeria earlier reported that DCP Kyari was nabbed hours after the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency declared him wanted for alleged drug trafficking.
The celebrity super cop who is under probe for alleged collaboration with an international fraudster, Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi, was picked alongside four others.
ThisNigeria gathered that DCP Abba Kyari was handcuffed like a common criminal when he was nabbed.
•Four police officers also arrested over 25kg cocaine deal
Earlier yesterday, the NDLEA declared Kyari wanted over alleged drug trafficking.
But few hours after he was declared wanted by the NDLEA over his involvement in a 25 kilograms cocaine deal, the Nigeria Police Force handed over Kyari to the anti-narcotic agency.
Five of the wanted suspects namely: DCP Abba Kyari; ACP Sunday J. Ubua; ASP Bawa James; Inspector Simon Agirgba and Inspector John Nuhu were driven into the National Headquarters of NDLEA in Abuja at about 5pm on Monday 14th February to formally hand them over for interrogation and further investigation.
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said in a statement that “The Agency wishes to assure that no stone will be left unturned to ensure that all suspects already in custody and those that may still be indicted in the course of the investigation will face the full weight of the law at the end of the ongoing probe.”
•How he was caught sharing $61,000 drugs proceeds
In his earlier revelation, Babafemi disclosed how Kyari belonged to a drug cartel that operates the Brazil-Ethiopia-Nigeria illicit drug pipeline.
He further revealed that Kyari contacted one of its officers in Abuja and struck a deal to secure the release of a total of 25kg seized cocaine.
Babafemi said, “After the Agency gave the officer the green light to play along, he and Kyari began a WhatsApp call for the rest of the day. The officer conveyed “their” willingness to play the game.”
“The saga started on Friday, January 21, 2022, when DCP Kyari initiated a call to one of the NDLEA officers in Abuja at 2:12 pm. When the officer returned the call two minutes later, Kyari informed him he was coming to see him, to discuss an operational matter after the Juma’at service.
“He appeared at the agreed venue of the meeting with the officer and went straight to the crux of the matter. This was it: His team had intercepted and arrested some traffickers that came into the country from Ethiopia with, according to him, 25kg of cocaine.
“He proposed a drug deal whereby he and his team are to take 15kg of the cocaine and leave 10kg for the prosecution of the suspects arrested with the illicit drug in Enugu. In the meantime, the purloined cocaine will be replaced with a dummy worth 15kg. He asked the NDLEA officer to persuade men of the FCT Command, to play along as well.
“Now, anybody who is in touch with the reality of the renewed drug war by NDLEA since January 18, 2021, would know that that was a tall order because our officers and men have rededicated themselves to the war against illicit drugs and what Kyari was asking for was not tenable, not in this new dispensation, not with the new NDLEA.
“We can recall that one of our officers was in the same situation in May 2021 when a drug kingpin, Ejiofor Felix Enwereaku, flew from Brazil to Nigeria to negotiate the release of a 27.95 kg shipment of cocaine intercepted at the MMIA.
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“The drug lord offered a bribe of $24, 500, but our officer placed duty above pecuniary interest. We all know how the episode ended. That is the ethos of the new NDLEA. And our officer proved it again this time by reporting to the authorities. “By 11: 05 am on Monday, January 24, after the Agency gave the officer the green light to play along, he and Kyari began a WhatsApp call for the rest of the day. The officer conveyed “their” willingness to play the game.
“At this point, Kyari disclosed that the 15kg (already taken out) was shared between the informants that provided information for the seizure and he and his men of the IRT of the Nigeria Police. According to him, the informants were given 7kg while his team took 8kg which was already sold. He then offered to pay the NDLEA team (that is the officer and the FCT commander) by selling on their behalf, half of the remaining 10kg, thereby further reducing the original cocaine for the prosecution to just 5kg.
“At N7m per kilogram, the proceed from the 5kg would amount to N35m, at the exchange rate of N570 per dollar being the black market rate for the day, January 24, 2022. In effect, he would be delivering $61, 400 to the NDLEA team.”
