The suspended head of the Intelligence Response Team, IRT, of the Nigerian Police Force, Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP Abba Kyari, has been arrested by the Nigerian police.
Multiple media sources reported that he was arrested alongside four others on Monday.
Kyari arrest came hours after the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, declared him wanted over alleged drug links.
The suspended DCP is also under investigation following his indictment by the United States of America, USA’s Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, in the case of fraud involving Instagram celebrity, Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi.
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, had at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, chronicled how Kyari belonged to a drug cartel that operates the Brazil-Ethiopia-Nigeria illicit drug pipeline.
The anti-drug agency had claimed that Kyari contacted one of its officers in Abuja and struck a deal to secure the release of a total of 25 kilogram seized cocaine, leading to the setting up if a sting operation to nab him.
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.
“He (Kyari) brought with him the money from the sale of the 5 kilogram share of the NDLEA team, a total of $61,400. Our officer, however, preferred to take the money inside his car. Well, the car was wired with sound and video recorders. And the moment was documented, part of which I will play for you at the end of this briefing.
“We have a trove of intelligence, hard facts, from chats to photos and video and a detailed transcript of the communication between him and the NDLEA officer.”
Kyari was the officer-in-charge of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team,IRT, until his suspension by the police force.
Recall that a report by the FBI had indicted him in the case of fraud involving Instagram celebrity, Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi.
The report was investigated by a special panel set up by the IGP Usman Alkali, who also forwarded it to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, for legal advice.
On Friday, the Police Service Commission, PSC, gave the police two weeks to conclude investigation on the case involving Kyari.
According to a statement signed by the Head, Press and Public Relations, PSC, Ikechukwu Ani, the commission also directed that the investigation should be carried out by a different panel.
