ABBA Kyari, the suspended head of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), was on Monday declared wanted by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for drug offences.
In a statement signed by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the agency alleged that Kyari was part of a cartel that operates the Brazil, Ethiopia and Nigeria illicit drug pipeline.
The NDLEA statement showed that Kyari was still actively involved with the IRT despite his suspension by Inspector General of Police Usman Alkali.
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The statement explained that an IRT team that works with Kyari intercepted and arrested some suspected drug traffickers that came into the country.
Parts of the statement that show Kyari’s active involvement with the IRT read, “The saga started on Friday, January 21, 2022, when DCP Kyari initiated a call to one of the NDLEA officers in Abuja at 2:12 pm.
“His (Kyari) team had intercepted and arrested some traffickers that came into the country from Ethiopia with, according to him, 25kg of cocaine.
“He (Kyari) proposed a drug deal whereby he and his team are to take 15kg of the cocaine and leave 10kg for the prosecution of the suspects arrested with the illicit drug in Enugu.”
The statement also said, “Kyari disclosed that the 15kg (already taken out) was shared between the informants that provided information for the seizure and he and his men of the IRT of the Nigerian Police. According to him, the informants were given 7kg while his team took 8kg which was already sold.”
Before now, Kyari was being investigated by the Nigerian Police Force after the United States authorities declared him wanted over his alleged role in a scam perpetrated by a fraudster Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi, and five others.
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent Andrew Innocenti said he obtained voice calls and WhatsApp conversations between Kyari and Hushpuppi, adding that Hushpuppi also paid the police officer N8 million or $20,600 for the arrest and detention of a “co-conspirator,” Chibuzo Vincent.
The United States Attorney’s Office at the Central District of California had ordered the FBI to arrest Kyari and bring him to the US to answer questions.
The Attorney General of the Federation Abubakar Malami said a prima facie case that could lead to Kyari’s arrest and possible extradition to US has been established.
However, some Nigerians on social media have raised suspicions that Kyari’s link with a drug trafficking case could be a ploy to prevent his extradition to the US.
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