CONTRARY to media reports, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has said the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Alkali Baba was yet to receive the report of the Special Investigation Panel(SIP) set up to probe the former Head, Intelligence Response Team, Deputy Police Commissioner Abba Kyari.
Force Public Relations Officer Frank Mba, who stated this in a statement on Tuesday, said the investigation on the alleged involvement of Kyari in a 1.1 million dollar internet fraud by an Instagram influencer, Abbas Ramon, also known as Hushpuppi and four others, was still ongoing.
“The Nigeria Police Force wishes to inform the general public that the probe into the alleged indictment of DCP Abba Kyari by the FBI, being conducted by the NPF Special Investigation Panel (SIP), is still ongoing,” he said.
“Members of the public are enjoined to note that the panel has not submitted its report to the Inspector General of Police, as being wrongly reported in some news outlets and online platforms”.
He promised that the outcome of the investigation by the panel would be communicated to the public.
The ICIR had reported that in the course of an investigation into the alleged fraudulent charges against Ramon Abbas also known as Hushpuppi, Kyari was alleged to have received money from the suspect.
According to a 69-page document sighted by The ICIR, the payment was for two different transactions paid into GT Bank and Zenith Bank accounts, presumed to facilitate the arrest of Vincent Chibuzo, an accomplice of Hushpuppi.
The Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) prosecutor further alleged that Hushpuppi was determined to pay Kyari in order to have Chibuzor jailed in Nigeria.
The prosecutor also provided an affidavit where Kyari indicated interest to share an account detail, and six minutes later, he provided a Zenith bank account to Hushpuppi.
Kyari is currently under suspension by the Police Service Commission (PSC) after an arrest warrant was issued against him by a United States Magistrate Judge, Otis Wright.
Earlier this month, the IGP appointed a Deputy Commissioner of Police Tunji Disu, to replace Kyari as the new Head of the Police IRT pending the conclusion of the ongoing investigation.
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