Dark cloud around Abba Kyari as FG considers extradition to US over Hushpuppi
By Eugene Onyeji
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, on Monday, said talks are going on with the United States Government on the extradition of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Abba Kyari.
Kyari, is being linked with Ramon Abbas, alias Hushpuppi, already convicted of internet fraud by US court, and currently awaiting sentencing, which has been put off till July this year.
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Malami, told his host on Channels TV on Monday that talks were going on between the Federal Government and the US counterpart on the possibility of extraditing the former Head of the Intelligence Response Team, (IRT), because reasonable grounds for suspicion had been established against him.
Giving an update about the Kyari case, Malami, said: “As far as I am concerned, the parties are discussing, the parties are collaborating, there are exchanges of correspondence from the perspective of investigation, from the perspective of extradition, and associated things.”
He added: “That is why we are talking of reasonable grounds for suspicion. Reasonable grounds for suspicion have been established and that will eventually translate to the possibility of prosecution and eventual conviction if at the end of the day one is adjudged guilty by the court of law.
“The position now is that there are prima facie grounds, reasonable grounds for suspicion that have been considered, from the perspective of prosecution, prospective of likely extradition, if the need for so doing arises. That is what is unfolding in terms of international collaboration.”
Last week, the Police Service Commission (PSC), was said to have returned the file of Kyari, the former star boy of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) whose meteoric rise in service was said to be a reflection of his effectiveness in service, to the office of the Inspector General of Police, said to have recommended his demotion by a rank, to a stiffer punishment.
It was gathered that what Edet House, Abuja, recommended, was nothing but a slap on the wrist and nothing outside outright dismissal and prosecution would be enough in order to preserve the image of the police and continue to enjoy international collaboration.
The high-profile career, which saw the multiple award-winning super cop being given special recognition by the National Assembly and rapid promotion by the police authorities, had fallen, when investigation papers linked him to the alleged fraudster, specifically to the effect that he actually detained a whistleblower who wanted to squeal on a scam, in which Hushpuppi, was about to perpetrate against a Qatari business tycoon for $1million.
Kyari, the former IRT boss, had denied involvement in the scam carried out by Hushpuppi, which was revealed by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which gave a detailed account of his involvement.