Nigeria’s “super cop”, DCP Abba Kyari risks demotion or dismissal from the Nigeria Police Force following his indictment by the US government for involvement with internet fraudsters, the Police Service Commission (PSC) has said.
The Commissioner in charge of Media on the board of the PSC, Mr Austin Braimoh, gave the indication on Friday.
Recall that alleged internet fraudster, Ramon Abbas aka Ray Hushpuppi, who has pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in the US, told American authorities during interrogation that Kyari got a bribe from him to facilitate the arrest and jailing of Hushpuppi’s associate, Kelly Chibuzo Vincent.
Hushpuppi and Vincent fell out over the sharing of a $1.1 million loot got from a Qatari businessperson.
Documents filed by the Justice Department before the United States District Court for the Central District of California stated that in September 2019, Kyari travelled to Dubai and was picked by Hushpuppi’s driver.
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Kyari has since denied receiving a bribe from Hushpuppi.
In a Friday statement, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, ordered a review of the information on Kyari.
However, Braimoh said that the PSC would not be bound by the IGP’s review but will conduct a further probe.
He said that the outcome of the PSC’s probe would determine Kyari’s future in the force.
“The commission won’t say anything until we get the official report. We are the final decision-maker on his fate as a police officer. Everything concerning his indictment can be investigated and the criminal aspect of it can be sent to the law court but on the official aspect concerning discipline; no other body has power to do anything to him as a police officer, it is only the commission that has such powers.
“So, the commission is awaiting the full report of investigation and his indictment and we will treat it officially; we will apply the law. The law will determine the various punishments that we can award against him. He can be dismissed depending on the gravity of the offence; we can demote him, reduce his rank; we can suspend him.
“Many things are laid out before us pertaining to various offences and after that, the criminal aspect would be referred to the court for prosecution. It depends on how the report is coming; whether it is coming to us directly for us to extricate the criminal aspect and treat it or they want to treat it and refer the official one to us to discipline him,’’ Saturday Punch quoted Braimoh as saying.