THE Police Service Commission (PSC) has suspended two senior officers, Sunday Ubuah and James Bawa, over their alleged participation in a drug trafficking case involving the suspended head of the Intelligence Response Team Abba Kyari.
In a statement released on Thursday, PSC spokesperson Ikechukwu Ani said the Commission conveyed the notice of the suspension to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) in a letter dated February 16, 2022.
Ubua and Bawa worked directly under Kyari and were involved in the sell of 25kg of cocaine confiscated from drug traffickers at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.
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The statement released by the PSC said, “The Commission in the letter titled ‘Re- Investigation into seizure and Transfer to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) of 25 kilogrammes of Cocaine by the Office of DCP, Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Nigeria Police Department of Force Intelligence Bureau’ stated that in accordance with the provisions of the Public Service Rules 030406, the Commission has approved the suspension of the officers’ until the outcome of the investigation into the allegations levelled against them.”
The statement said the Commission also requested the suspension of two police inspectors, Simon Agrigba and John Nuhu, who were also involved in the case.
“The IGP is further requested to inform the Commission of the arrest of ASP John Umoru, who is currently at large, whenever his arrest is effected to enable it to take necessary action,” the statement added.
Kyari was on Monday declared wanted by NDLEA for selling 20kg of cocaine confiscated from drug traffickers.
He was subsequently arrested by the police and handed over to the NDLEA alongside his accomplices, Ubuah, James, Agrigba and Nuhu.
Kyari, a highly decorated police officer, was also indicted by the United States Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) for receiving bribe from a fraudster Abass Ramon, also known as Hushpuppi, in connection with a $1.1 million fraud against a Qatari businessman.
The PSC and the Force Headquarters have not been concluded investigations into the FBI’s allegations against Kyari.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via [email protected], on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94