BY ROTIMI DUROJAIYE
The Police Service Commission, on Sunday, announced the suspension of Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police and Head, Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Nigeria Police Force from the exercise of the powers and functions of his office.
A statement signed by Ikechukwu Ani, Head, Press and Public Relations of the PSC, said, “Kyari’s suspension took effect from Saturday, July 31, 2021 and would subsist pending the outcome of the investigation in respect of his indictment by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States.
“The Commission has also directed the Inspector General of Police to furnish it with information on further development on the matter for necessary further action.
“The Commission’s decision which was conveyed in a letter with reference, PSC/POL/D/153/vol/V/138 to the Inspector General of Police today, Sunday, August 1, 2021, was signed by Hon. Justice Clara Bata Ogunbiyi, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court and Honourable Commissioner 1 in the Commission for the Commission’s Chairman, Alhaji Musiliu Smith, a retired Inspector General of Police who is currently on leave.”
The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, had earlier recommended the immediate suspension of Kyari from the service of the Nigeria Police Force, pending the outcome of an ongoing internal investigations touching on him.
The IGP, in his letter to the PSC, dated July 31, 2021, noted that the recommendation for the suspension of the officer was in line with the internal disciplinary processes of the Force.
The IGP, in a statement, signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, a Commissioner of Police, further noted that the suspension was expected to create an enabling environment for the NPF Special Investigation Panel to carry out its investigations into the weighty allegations against Kyari without interference.
“The suspension is without prejudice to the constitutional presumption of innocence in favour of the officer,” the statement added.
The Special Investigation Panel, comprising four senior police officers, is headed by DIG Joseph Egbunike, the Deputy Inspector General of Police in-charge of the Force Criminal Investigations Department.
“The SIP, inter alia, is 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 NPF by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The SIP is also to obtain detailed representation of DCP Abba 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.
“Meanwhile, the IGP has reaffirmed the commitment of the Force to the Rule of Law and assured the public of the sanctity of the probe as well as the absolute respect for the rights and privileges of the officer throughout the period of the investigations.”
The latest decision has seen the PSC reversing its earlier stand that Kyari may be dismissed and prosecuted if found culpable in the $1.1million fraud perpetrated by fraudster, Abbass Ramon (aka Hushpupp).
The Commissioner in charge of media on the board of the PSC, Austin Braimoh, had earlier said a US court could not order arrest of a non–citizen resident in Nigeria.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ladi Rotimi-Williams, said, “We are a sovereign nation and we can decide who stays and who leaves Nigeria, subject to peculiar circumstances. In this instance, they wanted a Nigerian citizen to come to the United States. I think it is a moral obligation.
America can’t compel Nigeria. Nigeria also doesn’t have to take him over there, but it is in the interest of Nigeria to conduct a judicial process here and if a prima facie case is established against him, then send him over there.
“Another thing is if we have an agreement to swap suspects. Maybe if Nigeria also has a suspect in America whom it wants back in Nigeria and this becomes a matter of foreign relations.”
The new chairman of the NBA Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBASPIDEL), Monday Onyekachi Ubani, also concurred.
According to him, “the arrest warrant doesn’t make it automatic that he would just go and face trial in America. If they want to go by the way of extradition, he has to undergo the judicial process.”
Kyari, a decorated Nigerian cop, is believed by the public to be an incorruptible, courageous, smart and patriotic detective.
And he has succeeded in keeping this new side of him covered with posts about his exploits in battles against criminals and regular sanctimonious blogs about patriotism and all those apparently fake claims to being a model citizen and super cop.
He cannot be such a wonderful cop that he wants the public to believe he is and yet be found to have been in bed with criminals and suspected criminals.
Being a super cop involves more than merely cracking crime cells and arresting top criminals.
He should have been above board himself. Faith in his operations is vital and he can only get and retain that, not by being without imperfections, but by managing his imperfections in such a way that they do not come in direct conflict with his official duties.
Possibly, if Kyari wasn’t commanding IRT, he would be in one local and non-lucrative posting castigating the person in his position and boasting about how incorruptible he would have been. Today, the breeze has blown and the stump of the hen is revealed.
Beyond merely suspending Kyari, the Police hierarchy should extend the ongoing investigation to other members of the IRT and even other police departments. There was no how Kyari could have acted alone and there is no how his excesses could have been covered without the complicity of higher police officers.
Nigeria has struggled over the years to show the world that there is no state support for criminality. Government has often argued that it is indeed its determination to rid the nation of fraudulent crimes that birthed the Criminal Code, Section 419, which stipulates jail terms for financial crimes.
Here is an opportunity to show that while there are a few bad eggs out of a population of over 211 million people, majority of Nigerians are conscientious.
Nigeria should hand over Kyari to the FBI to have his day in court, except if there is a compelling reason to believe that he will not be fairly treated.
Let the investigators and the courts do their work. Nigeria should not be made to look like the nation is on trial. The only person on trial here is Kyari and, perhaps, our criminal justice system, which often fails to detect and punish high profile criminals because state officials have been compromised.
Head or tail, Kyari is the biggest loser. His reputation has been tainted. He has sabotaged his own hard work. It is a lesson for law enforcement agents to be mindful of who they associate with. They should avoid any situation, which, in the future, may convey the impression that they have used their privileged office to aid or abet crime. It is also a reminder that there is nothing hidden under the sun.
