A new twist was added to the bribery allegation against Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, when he edited and later deleted a post on his relationship with Ramon Abbas, suspected fraudster also known as Hushpuppi.
Kyari, who was suspended by the Police Service Commission following an indictment by the FBI, had initially said Hushpuppi reached his team to help him arrest someone who was threatening his family.
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The super cop had said based on Hushpuppi’s complaint a suspect was arrested and later released when it was discovered he was innocent.
He had denied collecting any money from the suspected fraudster who is being tried in US, narrating how he connected Hushpuppi to a fabric dealer whom Hushpuppi paid about N300,000.
Later report emerged that Hushpuppi paid N8 million to Kyari.
In an attempt to clear his name, Kyari altered the post he initially made.
He had expunged the part of linking his tailor to Hushpuppi over a N300,000 deal and explained that Hushpuppi reached his team to help recover N8 million from someone.
In the post, which has now been deleted, Kyari maintained that he never got a dime from Hushpuppi.
“Nobody demanded or collected any money from Abbas Hushpuppi. He can be interviewed publicly in the presence of the world media by the people holding him to confirm this,” Kyari wrote.
“He also called for another case in June 2020 and complained about a financial transaction with a second person whom he said his friend sent 8 million naira to and pleaded for his friend’s money to be recovered. He sent transaction slips and other evidences to prove their case against the person.
“All these can be verified from the Hushpuppi since he is still in custody. And it can be verified from the person who collected 8 million naira from Hushpuppi’s friend whom they complained about is alive and is in Nigeria.”
However, Kyari took down the post after a huge backlash.
The brilliant cop has been the subject of ridicule, especially on social media, since the news of his contact with Hushpuppi broke.
He is currently being grilled by a panel set up to probe the allegations.
On Monday, the Inspector-General of Police replaced him with Tunji Disu, a former Commander of the Rapid Response Squad in Lagos, as the IRT head.
