By Uche Amunike
A United States Court has issued a warrant of arrest for Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari.
The order was given by Otis wright of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, asking the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, to arrest and detain Kyari for having ties with the embattled Instagram celebrity Raman Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi.
This new twist was contained in a court document dated July 26 2021.
Mr Abbas during his prosecution in the United States of America, mentioned Mr Kyari as one of the beneficiaries of the $1.1 million dollars loot received from a Qatar businessman whose name was not disclosed.
The United States Department of Justice also said that ongoing investigations showed that Hushpuppi allegedly bribed Kyari to arrest one Kelly Chibuzo Vincent who they alleged was his accomplice in Nigeria.
According to Kyari, his hands were clean as nobody demanded money from the embattled Instagram influencer.
He stated on his verified Facebook page that Hushpuppi had informed the police that somebody in Nigeria was threatening to kill his family and even sent the suspect’s phone number, urging the police to act fast to save his family. This was when Hushpuppi was still based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates before his arrest.
‘Nobody demanded any money from Abbas Hushpuppi and nobody collected any money from him. We responded to a distress call he made on threat to his family and released the suspect when we discovered there was no life threat from the suspect. This is the true story. Vincent is alive, he can be contacted,’ the officer posted on his verified Facebook account.
Kyari maintained that the focus of the police was to save people’s lives, especially when they were threatened, which was why the suspect, Vincent Kelly was investigated. However, the investigations showed that they were longtime friends with disagreement over money.
Kerry insisted that he did not demand money from Hushpuppi. The only discussion they had about money was when Hushpuppi asked who sewed his native wears and caps, adding that after he linked them up, Hushpuppi sent N300,000 naira for five sets of attires directly to the man.
He went on to say that after the clothes and caps were delivered to his office he sent them across to Hushpuppi, urging anyone who doubted him to contact Vincent for confirmation.
He urged Nigerians to remain calm saying that people who were working towards damaging his image will be put to shame.
His words: ‘For those who are celebrating that this is an indictment on us and mentioning some fictitious big money, they will be disappointed once again as our hands are clean and our record of service for two decades is open for everybody to see. They will continue seeing us serving our fatherland and we will continue responding to ALL distress calls from ALL Nigerians provided they are life threatening.’
‘For good Nigerians who appreciate our service, please don’t worry as our hands are clean and they should please not respond to those celebrating and creating many false narratives without any evidence. We are used to such types of people and false newsmakers and distributors’, he concluded.
While there has not been any statement from the police addressing Mr Kyari’s relationship with Mr Abbas, the controversial development has continued to generate discussion among Nigerians on different social platforms.
