The Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malamisaid on Sunday that he has not exonerated Abba Kyaria suspended police deputy commissioner, of complicity in the $1.1 million money laundering scheme headed by Ramon Abbas, aka hushpuppy.
Malami, who was responding to a report in Punch newspaper that he was plotting to save Kyari, said he had only advised police to carry out further investigations to link the senior officer to the crime.
He called the case a work in progress.
Punch reported that Mr. Malami, weeks after asking the police to investigate the proceeds of crime received by Mr. Kyari, made a U-turn at the second legal notice that there was no evidence against him.
But reacting to the report, Malami’s spokesman said in the statement: “The Federation Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN has described as false media reports that his Office had conclusively exonerated Mr. Abba Kyari.”
Gwandu said that “there seems to be a misunderstanding regarding the matter,” adding: “It was a work-in-progress case in which the federation Attorney General’s office requested further investigation regarding some aspects of the investigation. ”
He added that “it was clear that the conclusion on the alleged contradiction in the subject was a clear case of misconception.
The position of the Federal Attorney General’s Office and Minister of Justice is that no conclusion has been reached regarding the absence of evidence related to the first report.
“Issues were raised for further investigation in order to cover the field of investigation to arrive at an informed decision.”
RAMON OLORUNWA ABBAS, also known as “Ray Hushpuppi”, [PHOTO CREDIT: Official Instagram account of Hushpuppi]
Background
Kyari was indicted by the US government in July 2021 in a money laundering case involving Ramon Abass, popularly known as Huspuppi, an Instagram celebrity.
As Hushpuppi awaits trial after pleading guilty to charges in a separate case filed in the Central District Court for the Central District of California, Mr. Kyari, one of his alleged accomplices, is being held by the National Drug Enforcement Agency. (NDLEA) for various drug trafficking offenses in Abuja.
Kyari and four of his colleagues are currently on trial in federal court in Abuja for allegedly trafficking cocaine.
new spin
Punch reported that in a new move to free Mr. Kyari, the AGF in its second letter of legal advice informed the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, that there was no evidence linking the former Commander of the IGP Intelligence Response Team (IRT ) to money laundering offences, Punch Newspapers reported.
Mr. Malami, according to the newspaper, had initially ordered the police to further investigate Mr. Kyari for allegedly receiving 33 sets of criminal proceeds in connection with the case.
The minister was reported to have stated in the initial letter that a money laundering case had been established against the former IRT commander.
But Punch reported that the AGF, in a new legal notice, said there was no evidence linking Mr. Kyari to the alleged crime of money laundering.
The newspaper quoted the letter written on behalf of the AGF by Mohammed Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Federal Ministry of Justice.
According to the report, the letter dated February 4, 2022, with reference number DPPA/LA/814/21, indicated that the evidence contained in the case diary “was not sufficient to indicate or demonstrate that said monies (N279mn) were washed directly or indirectly by Kyari to hide their origin”.
“I am directed to inform you that after careful study of said reply in which you stated that ‘money has been traced to Zenith Bank account no. 2255416115 belonging to Usman Ibrahim Waziri; Guarantee Trust Bank Account no. 0130665392 belonging to Adekoya Sikiru; Zenith bank account no. 2080537566 belonging to Hussein Ala and other funds went to Sharon Festus. The monies were withdrawn and used by the aforementioned account holders and Mrs.
Besieged SBC Abba Kyari
“We believe that the previous answer has not linked the suspect, DCP Abba Kyari, with the crime of money laundering, since the evidence contained in the diary of the case is not sufficient to indicate or demonstrate that said money was directly or indirectly laundered by Kyari to disguise its origin, even more so that the aforementioned recipients or recipients exonerated it in their declarations of not having anything to do with the money,” the new letter said.
Mr. Malami urged law enforcement authorities to explore their internal disciplinary action against Mr. Kyari through the Police Service Commission for breaching the code of conduct for law enforcement officers in terms of his relationship with Hushpuppi, among others. ethical and professional violations.
Speaking further to Punch, Mr. Abubakar blamed the police for their failure to close gaps that were noted by the Special Investigation Panel led by the late DIG Joseph Egbunike into Mr. Kyari’s alleged criminal links to Hushpuppi.
“We said that, in the absence of evidence, further investigation is needed and that they should proceed to try him for the administrative offenses they have identified. We said that they (the police) should establish links: the money trail.
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“Instead of them going and further investigating the gaps that we identified, they didn’t. They simply responded to say ‘check paragraphs so and so’. We are saying no, those paragraphs did not sufficiently establish the things that we say they should establish.”
Back and forth
Communications back and forth between the police and the AGF office fuel speculation about the possibility of sweeping the case under the rug.
This is also especially because Mr. Malami had said while appearing on Channels Television last month that there were grounds to proceed against Mr. Kyari.
From the date of the letter cited by Punch, Mr. Malami’s February 7 television commentary revealing that a prima facie case had been established against Mr. Kyari, came about three days after his second legal adviser ask the police to carry out further investigations.
But Mr. Gwandu, a spokesman for AGF, in an interview with our reporter on Sunday, insisted that Mr. Malami was not covering for Mr. Kyari. He said that Malami’s call for further investigation could not have involved a cover-up.
“The position of the Federal Attorney General’s Office and Minister of Justice is that no conclusion has been reached in the sense of the absence of evidence related to the first report,” he said.
However, Nigerian police force spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi said the police were not aware of the AGF’s directive on closing gaps in the investigation of Mr. Kyari.
In a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday, Adejobi said he would investigate Malami’s letter further and would contact this reporter.
The force spokesman had not yet returned at the time of this report.