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Police Commission Suspends Abba Kyari, Indicted Nigeria’s ‘Super Cop’

Abba Kyari, celebrated Nigeria’s super cop has been relieved of his duties by the Police Service Commission (PSC) over his indictment in a $1.1million fraud case.

The Nigeria’s Police Service Commission (PSC) has approved the suspension of Abba Kyari, celebrated Nigerian cop, linked to a $1.1million bribery case.

A statement by Ikechukwu Ani, the spokesperson of the Police Service Commission (PSC) Sunday afternoon, stated that Kyari was temporarily relieved from duties as a deputy commissioner of police and head of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), following the recommendation of Usman Alkali Baba, the country’s Inspector-General of Police (IGP).

Ani said that “Abba Kyari’s suspension took effect from Saturday, July 31st, 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.”

In addition, the commission urged the Inspector General of Police to furnish it with information on further development on the matter for necessary further action.


HumAngle reported earlier that IGP Usman Alkali Baba, recommended Kyari’s suspension. 

Fraud allegation

Kyari was indicted by the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over an alleged involvement in how a Qatari businessperson was duped of over $1.1 million by Ramonu Abbas popularly known as Hushpuppi who is currently being held in the US.

Hushpuppi had brought Kyari into the fraud scheme to arrest his gang member-turned-rival, Kelly Chibuzo who was displeased by his cut from the fraud proceeds, according to a months-long investigation by Andrew Innocenti, an FBI special agent.

Kyari’s involvement, according to Innocenti, was “to ensure CHIBUZO’s continued arrest, thereby preventing CHIBUZO from notifying the Victim Businessperson of ABBAS’ and JUMA’s fraudulent scheme and preventing CHIBUZO from hijacking the scheme for his own benefit.”

“The decorated Nigerian cop was also said to have told ABBAS that he would not allow CHIBUZO’s girlfriend to pay money to get CHIBUZO out of custody as he would have done for a ‘normal arrest’.”

But the cop has since denied any involvement in the said case.

A United States court sitting in California had, on July 26, ordered the FBI to arrest the Nigerian cop.

The Nigerian Police Service Commission, the agency in charge of disciplinary actions, said the FBI has no power to make arrests in Nigeria without the commission’s findings and approval. The FBI has since been in touch with the Nigerian Police.

Until his suspension, Kyari was the Head of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT).


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Aishat Babatunde

Aishat Babatunde heads the digital reporting desk. Before joining HumAngle, she worked at Premium Times and Nigerian Tribune. She is a graduate of English from the University of Ibadan.

Adejumo Kabir

Kabir works at HumAngle as the Editor of Southern Operations. He is interested in community development reporting, human rights, social justice, and press freedom. He was a finalist in the student category of the African Fact-checking Award in 2018, a 2019 recipient of the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence, and a 2020 recipient of the Thomson Foundation Young Journalist Award. He was also nominated in the journalism category of The Future Awards Africa in 2020. He has been selected for various fellowships, including the 2020 Civic Media Lab Criminal Justice Reporting Fellowship and 2022 International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ) 'In The Name of Religion' Fellowship.

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