I Didn’t Clear Abba Kyari On Money Laundering….

Abubakar Malami, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, has stated that he has only ordered a further investigation into the case of DCP Abba Kyari, the suspended commander of police in charge of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT).

According to the AGF, Kyari was never exonerated in the money laundering case involving his ties to Ramon Abbas, alias Hushpuppi, an international wire fraudster suspect.

Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, the AGF’s special assistant on media and public relations, said there appears to be a misunderstanding about the issue.

“It was a work-in-progress case in which the office of the Attorney General of the Federation requested additional investigation into certain aspects of the investigation,” he said.

Gwandu stated that the conclusion reached regarding the alleged contradiction on the issue was a clear case of misunderstanding.

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“In the absence of evidence relating to the first report, the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice maintains that no conclusion has been reached.”

“The issues were raised for further investigation with the goal of covering the field in order to make an informed decision,” he added.

There were reports over the weekend that the AGF’s office had reversed its decision in the Abba Kyari case.

Following further investigations, the AGF’s office has stated that there are no links with Kyari, despite the fact that the late DIG Joseph Egbunike-led Special Investigation Panel (SIP) established a prima-facie case of money laundering involving 33 payments against Kyari.

Kyari and others are currently facing criminal charges in court for their alleged involvement in drug trafficking and money laundering.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Ministry of Justice, Mohammed Abubakar, wrote a new legal opinion on behalf of the AGF with the reference number DPPA/LA/814/21, emphasizing that the evidence contained in the case diary showed no link between DCP Abba Kyari and Hushpuppi.

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The case diary evidence ‘was not sufficient to indicate or show that the said monies (N279 million) were laundered directly or indirectly by Kyari to disguise their origin,’ it said. ‘The police report on the investigation failed to investigate the gaps identified in their investigation by the AGF office,’ he continued.

The advice was addressed to IGP Usman Alkali Baba and was titled ‘Re: Forwarding of the Nigeria Police Force Special Investigation Team investigation report and request for legal advice with regards to allegations of criminal conspiracy, aiding and abetting Internet fraud, wire fraud, identity theft, and money laundering against DCP Abba Kyari.’

“I am directed to inform you that after a careful study of the said response wherein you stated that ‘the monies have been traced to Zenith Bank account no. 2255416115 belonging to Usman Ibrahim Waziri; Guaranty Trust Bank account no. 0130665392 belonging to Adekoya Sikiru; Zenith Bank account no. 2080537566 belonging to Hussein Ala and other funds went to Sharon Festus and other funds went to Sharon Festus The money was taken out and used by the aforementioned account holders as well as the lady.

“We believe the above response does not link the suspect, DCP Abba Kyari, to the crime of money laundering because the evidence in the case diary is insufficient to indicate or show that the said monies were laundered directly or indirectly by Kyari to disguise their origin, especially since the aforementioned recipients or receivers exonerated him in their statements as having nothing to do with the monies.”