The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), says it will not shield anyone who may be indicted in the course of the ongoing investigation of a 25kg cocaine deal involving a gang allegedly headed by suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Abba Kyari.
The spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, said on Wednesday in Abuja that the agency remained committed to an evidence-based investigation and its resolve cannot be weakened by misrepresentation of facts.
The police on Monday arrested Kyari and four others and handed them over to the NDLEA who had earlier in the day declared him wanted.
After handing Kyari over, the police called on the NDLEA to also arrest its officers who are allegedly involved in the scandal but Babafemi said no NDLEA official is part of the cartel.
According to him, it was untrue that NDLEA officers at the Enugu airport were the ones who received the details about the mule (drug carriers) coming from Addis Ababa from the cartel.
“The agency (NDLEA) wishes to quote from the transcript of Abba Kyari’s recorded conversation with our undercover officer and a portion of ASP James Bawa’s statement to the police as documented in the police investigation report, a copy of which was made available to the agency, to state that it is an established fact that it is the Abba Kyari’s team that was contacted by the cartel and without doubt, the records clearly show how their ring works,” he said.
He recalled that after NDLEA requested for Kyari and others for interrogation, they were questioned by the police, after which they were handed over along with the report of their interrogation.
The Nigeria Police Force, NPF, has revealed that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, had officers in Enugu who were on the drug cartel’s payroll.
This was as NDLEA, in a statement on Wednesday, asserted that the drug courier in the 25kg cocaine deal involving the suspended DCP Abba Kyari and his men did not contact its officers.
A spokesman for the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said an interim investigation revealed that the two international drug couriers who were arrested at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, had strong ties with some officers of the NDLEA.
CSP Adejobi further disclosed that the two arrested couriers confirmed that the modus was for the transnational drug barons to conspire with the NDLEA officers on duty and send them their pre-boarding photographs for identification, seamless clearance, and unhindered passage out of the airport with the narcotics being trafficked.
NDLEA Spokesman, Femi Babafemi, explained that on the contrary, the traffickers, who were apprehended at the airport in Enugu, were in touch with the police team led by Kyari.
Babafemi stressed that the NDLEA remains committed to the evidence-based investigation and its resolve cannot be weakened by any misrepresentation of facts.
The Police Spokesman stated that the suspects also confirmed that they have been enjoying this relationship with the NDLEA officers at the Enugu Airport since 2021 and had in this instant case of 19th January 2022, been identified and cleared by the NDLEA officers as customary, having received their pre-departure photographs and other details prior to their arrival in Enugu.
“They were on their way out with the narcotics when they were apprehended by the police,” CSP Adejobi said.
In a contrary view, the NDLEA spokesman explained that, according to the police investigation report, ASP James Bawa in his statement to the police revealed that “he was called by an informant identified as IK from Brazil who told him that a drug courier will be arriving onboard Ethiopian Airlines in Enugu.”
Bawa, in his confession further explained that “a pointer from IK, the Brazil-based informant met with him at about 1420hrs on 19th January 2022 outside the airport and showed him a picture of the courier. Subsequently, they sighted the suspect as he exited the airport terminal after all arrival clearance formalities, and he was arrested with another associate”.
The NDLEA also disclosed that in his own recorded conversation with an undercover officer, Abba Kyari said, “they are greedy, seriously greedy (referring to his informants), we tried to have them accept 40% but they refused, except 50%; they know the rudiment of the deal very well; they are the ones that do the packing.
“From Brazil, one of the informants accompanied it to Ethiopia. You understand; one of the informants accompanied the goods to Ethiopia, one of the informants that give us information. He is the boy of the big baron.
“Addis, from Addis it will be given to those to proceed further with it, he will get their snapshots without their knowledge. Yes, he will reveal those that are conveying it further, get snapshots of theirs without their knowledge and send them to us (Abba Kyari’s team).
“So we already know the goods, pictures and the clothes they are wearing, hope you understand, we know your name, he will give us everything. So, automatically my team will just be waiting, they will just see you and arrest you.”
Responding to the NDLEA officer’s question on whether his boys are usually stationed inside or outside the airport, Abba Kyari said, “Yes, yes, some are outside while some are inside. They will just allow you to finish arrival formalities and arrest you the moment you come out.”
In his summation, Babafemi asserted that the confession from Kyari and his colleague leaves no doubt and emphatically establishes who the cartel was relating with and their modus operandi.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has revealed more shocking details on the drug deal involving supposedly suspended Nigeria’s super cop, Abba Kyari.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy made the revelation at the anti-narcotic agency headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday.
Babafemi made the revelation while saying the NDLEA has no reason to shield anyone who may be indicted in the course of the ongoing investigation of the 25kg cocaine deal involving Kyari.
The Agency in the statement assured that it remains committed to an evidence-based investigation of the matter and that its resolve cannot be weakened by any misrepresentation of facts.
“To correct some inaccuracies in the information in the public space that NDLEA officers at the Enugu airport were the ones who received from the cartel details about the mule coming from Addis Ababa, the Agency wishes to quote from the transcript of Abba Kyari’s recorded conversation with our undercover officer and a portion of ASP James Bawa’s statement to the police as documented in the police investigation report, a copy of which was made available to the Agency, to state that it’s an established fact that it’s the Abba Kyari’s team that was contacted by the cartel and without doubt the records clearly show how their ring works.
“Recall that after NDLEA requested for Kyari and others for interrogation, they were questioned by the police, after which they were handed over along with the report of their interrogation.
“According to the police investigation report, ASP James Bawa in his statement to the police reveals that “he was called by an informant identified as IK from Brazil who told him that a drug courier will be arriving on board Ethiopian Airlines in Enugu.
“He explained further that a pointer from IK, the Brazil based informant met with him at about 1420hrs on 19th January 2022 outside the airport and showed him a picture of the courier. Subsequently, they sighted the suspect as he exited the airport terminal after all arrival clearance formalities, and he was arrested with another associate.”
“In his own recorded conversation with our undercover officer, Abba Kyari also said the following: “They are greedy, seriously greedy (referring to his informants), we tried to have them accept 40% but they refused, except 50%, they know the rudiment of the deal very well, they are the ones that do the packing. From Brazil, one of the informants accompanied it to Ethiopia. You understand; one of the informants accompanied the goods to Ethiopia, one of the informants that give us information. He is the boy of the big baron.
“Addis, from Addis it will be given to those to proceed further with it, he will get their snapshots without their knowledge. Yes, he will reveal those that are conveying it further, get snapshots of theirs without their knowledge and send to us (Abba Kyari’s team). So we already know the goods, picture and the cloths they are wearing, hope you understand, we know your name, he will give us everything. So, automatically my team will just be waiting, they will just see you and arrest you.”
“Responding to our officer’s question on whether his boys are usually stationed inside or outside the airport, Abba Kyari said, “Yes, yes, some are outside while some are inside. They will just allow you to finish arrival formalities and arrest you the moment you come out.”
“The above no doubt establishes who the cartel was relating with and their modus operandi. Again, this is to correct inaccuracies in some reports and assure that the Agency will not deviate from an evidence-based investigation that will spare nobody found complicit,” the statement by Babafemi reads.
Fresh facts emerged yesterday on how the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba and Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, retd, met at Force Headquarters, Abuja, to decide the fate of the suspended commander of the Police Force Intelligence Response Team, DCP Abba Kyari, over his involvement in a 25kg cocaine deal.
The revelation came on a day the Police shut down all IRT units in states across the federation, following the arrest of DCP Kyari.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has narrated how on Jan 24, its officers played along with suspended police officer, DCP Abba Kyari, as he substituted 20kg kg cocaine with dummies- out of 25kg cocaine caught with some traffickers that came into the country from Ethiopia.
Spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi in a briefing revealed that “According to the plan, once the 5kg cocaine has been tested in the presence of the suspects and confirmed positive, there would be no need to test the remaining ones, being dummies.”
Kyari, before his suspension over links with convicted fraudster Hushpuppi, was the Commander of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) at the Force Intelligence Bureau of the Nigerian Police Force.
Babafemi maintained that the embattled cop is a member of a drug cartel that operates the Brazil-Ethiopia-Nigeria illicit drug pipeline.
He noted that Kyari, while in Lagos for a private business, sent his younger brother to deliver $61, 400 to the NDLEA team, as bribe to enable him take custody of the drug and suspects who were on ground in Abuja.
According to the Spokesman, Kyari had initiated a call to one of its officers on Friday, January 21, 2022.
NDLEA Spokesman said: “When the officer returned the call two minutes later, Kyari informed him he was coming to see him, to discuss an operational matter after the Juma’at service.
“He appeared at the agreed venue of the meeting with the officer and went straight to the crux of the matter. This was it: His team had intercepted and arrested some traffickers that came into the country from Ethiopia with 25kg of cocaine.
He 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. In the meantime, the purloined cocaine will be replaced with a dummy worth 15kg. He asked the NDLEA officer to persuade men of the FCT Command, to play along as well.
“By 11: 05 am on Monday, January 24, after the Agency gave the officer the green light to play along, he and Kyari began a WhatsApp call for the rest of the day. The officer conveyed “their” willingness to play the game.
He also brought with him the money from the sale of the 5kg share of the NDLEA team, a total of $61, 400. Our officer, however, preferred to take the money inside his car. Well, the car was wired with sound and video recorders
“At this point, Kyari disclosed that the 15kg (already taken out) was shared between the informants that provided information for the seizure and himself 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.
“He then offered to pay the NDLEA team (that is the officer and the FCT commander) by selling, on their behalf, half of the remaining 10kg, thereby further reducing the original cocaine for the prosecution to just 5kg.
“At N7m per kilogram, the proceed from the 5kg would amount to N35m, at the exchange rate of N570 per dollar being the black market rate for the day, January 24, 2022. In effect, he would be delivering $61, 400 to the NDLEA team.
“He put pressure on our officer to wrap up the arrangement with the commander of the FCT Command to take custody of the drug and suspects from his men who were on ground in Abuja. At the time, he was speaking from Lagos, where he allegedly travelled for private business.
“The next day January 25, Kyari offered to send his younger brother to deliver the payment while his men deliver the suspects, but our officer turned down the suggestion, insisting he would rather deal with him in person and was therefore prepared to wait for him to return from Lagos.
“And by 5: 23 pm, Kyari was in Abuja and met with the officer at the same rendezvous where they had the first meeting. In their discussion, he disclosed how his team received the information from a double-crosser who betrayed the traffickers to him, showing a sordid connection between law enforcement agents and the drug underworld; he narrated how acting on the tip-off, his team departed Abuja to Enugu and arrested the traffickers, removed part of the consignment on his instruction and replaced same with dummies.
“He also indicated how to identify the remnant of the original cocaine that would be delivered to NDLEA, five original packages marked with red dots. The reason for this was to avoid the dummies being subjected to test.
“He forwarded a picture of the marked original cocaine package. According to the plan, once the 5kg cocaine has been tested in the presence of the suspects and confirmed positive, there would be no need to test the remaining ones, being dummies.
“He also brought with him the money from the sale of the 5kg share of the NDLEA team, a total of $61, 400. Our officer, however, preferred to take the money inside his car. Well, the car was wired with sound and video recorders.”
The suspects and drugs were delivered to us on February 8 but the last part of the process, yet to be completed, is the debriefing of Kyari
The NDLEA spokesman explained that relevant channels of communication were duly followed in the demand for Kyari without any result and as such the NDLEA cannot continue to keep other suspects in the case indefinitely while the principal suspect fails to honour official invitation.
“NDLEA has the mandate to take custody of suspects and consignments of drugs seized by other arms of law enforcement and there is a standard protocol for such transfer.
“This we duly followed. The suspects and drugs were delivered to us on February 8 but the last part of the process, yet to be completed, is the debriefing of Kyari.
“DCP Abba Kyari was invited by NDLEA for debriefing on Thursday February 10 through two main channels because there is a whole lot of questions begging for answers. The invitation was legitimate and formal according to our protocol. But up till the close of office hours on Friday, February 11, he refused to respond.
“We are a law-abiding agency of government. We follow due process. In that vein, we will not detain suspects beyond the stipulated period according to the law before we charge them to court. And Kyari must be debriefed before the suspects are arraigned in court.
“Having failed to honour the official invitation, NDLEA has no option but to declare DCP Abba Kyari of the Nigerian Police WANTED, right from this very moment, the NDLEA spokesman declared.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has confirmed wanted super cop, Abba Kyari is now in its custody and that no stone will be left unturned in investigating the matter.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja made this known in a statement on Monday.
Babafemi made this known shortly after the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) said it has arrested Kyari and handed him over to the anti-narcotic agency.
“Five of the wanted suspects namely: DCP Abba Kyari; ACP Sunday J. Ubua; ASP Bawa James; Inspector Simon Agirgba and Inspector John Nuhu were driven into the National Headquarters of NDLEA in Abuja at about 5pm on Monday 14th February to formally hand them over for interrogation and further investigation.
“The Agency wishes to assure that no stone will be left unturned to ensure that all suspects already in custody and those that may still be indicted in the course of investigation will face the full weight of the law at the end of the ongoing probe”.
A former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, on Monday was completely in awe, as he wonders why the former head of the Intelligence Response Team, IRT, DCP Abba Kyari, is too big for President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Omokri recalled in a tweet on Monday that “Under President Obasanjo, Nuhu Ribadu was arrested and handcuffed. Tafa Balogun, the then Inspector General of Police, was arrested and handcuffed.
“What is so special about DCP Abba Kyari that he is not yet in jail and is still even attending parties?”
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, chronicled how Kyari belonged to a drug cartel that operates the Brazil-Ethiopia-Nigeria illicit drug route.
It would be recalled that Kyari was suspended over his alleged involvement with an international fraudster, Ramon Abass, popularly known as Hushpuppi.
The former Intelligence Response Team, IRT, boss was alleged to have benefitted from a heist carried out by Hushpuppi and his gang in Dubai.
He, however, denied involvement in Hushpuppi’s fraudulent activities.
But in the latest development, NDLEA said there is evidence linking Kyari to a drug cartel that operates the Brazil-Ethiopia-Nigeria illicit drug pipeline.
The agency later released a video linking the Police officer to the drug trafficking cartel, adding that the DCP needs to answer questions that came up in an ongoing drug case in which he is the principal actor.
Kyari was admitted into Police Academy Wudil, Kano State in 2000, he graduated as cadet Assistance Superintendent of Police (ASP) and was posted to Adamawa State Police Command for his one-year mandatory attachment in Song Police Division.
Until the revelation of his engagement with the infamous alleged Nigerian fraudster (Ramon Abbas) popularly known as Hushpuppi who is currently facing charges of money laundering leveled against him by the United States Government that implicated kyari as a party in an international scheme to defraud Qatari school founder and then launder over 1.1million dollars in illicit proceeds that led to his suspension, Kyari was the head of the Inspector General of Police’s Intelligence Response Team in the Nigerian Police Force Headquarters in Abuja.
Embattled police officer Abba Kyari has been taken into custody, according to information reaching TheNewsGuru.com (TNG).
Kyari was taken into custody after reports emerged that he is involved in a drug cartel that operates the Brazil-Ethiopia-Nigeria illicit drug pipeline.
The NDLEA declared him wanted on Monday after efforts to get him to clarify his involvement in the cocaine deal failed.
An Abuja-based human rights lawyer Pelumi Olajengbesi has urged the Federal Government and the Police Force to immediately arrest the suspended Head of the Intelligence Response Team, DCP Abba Kyari.
Olajengbesi urged the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, to immediately hand over suspended Kyari, to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to prove his innocence.
He said: “The IGP must immediately order the arrest of Abba Kyari and hand him over to the NDLEA at a public press conference if truly the police do not shield bad eggs.
“The IGP must prove that he is not backing Abba Kyari in his alleged atrocious crimes exposed in the public glare in the last one year.
“Justice must be served in the case of Abba Kyari and it must be served now to deter the bad eggs amongst the security agents colluding with drug barons and internet fraudsters to perpetrate heinous crimes and tarnish the image of the Force.
“The Police and the Federal Government have no excuse not to arrest Abba Kyari now that a government agency has found him culpable of heavy crimes. There must be no cover ups, no matter whose ox is gored.”
NDLEA Spokesman Femi Babafemi Releases More Evidence Against DCP Abba Kyari
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency says it has photo and video evidence against suspended Head of the Intelligence Response Team, DCP Abba Kyari who negotiated the release of 25kg of cocaine from the Agency in Abuja.
“We have a trove of intelligence, hard facts, from chats to photos and video and a detailed transcript of the communication between him and the NDLEA officer, NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, adding that Kyari belonged to a drug cartel that operates the Brazil-Ethiopia-Nigeria illicit drug pipeline.
Babafemi said Kyari contacted an officer of the Agency in January 2022 and tried to seal a deal.
He said, “By 11: 05 am on Monday, January 24, after the Agency gave the officer the green light to play along, he and Kyari began a WhatsApp call for the rest of the day. The officer conveyed “their” willingness to play the game.
“At this point, 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.
“He (Kyari) then offered to pay the NDLEA team (that is the officer and the FCT commander) by selling, on their behalf, half of the remaining 10kg, thereby further reducing the original cocaine for the prosecution to just 5kg. At N7m per kilogram, the proceed from the 5kg would amount to N35m, at the exchange rate of N570 per dollar being the black market rate for the day, January 24, 2022. In effect, he would be delivering $61, 400 to the NDLEA team.
“He (Kyari) put pressure on our officer to wrap up the arrangement with the commander of the FCT Command to take custody of the drug and suspects from his men who were on ground in Abuja. At the time, he was speaking from Lagos, where he allegedly travelled for private business.
“The next day January 25, Kyari offered to send his younger brother to deliver the payment while his men deliver the suspects, but our officer turned down the suggestion, insisting he would rather deal with him in person and was therefore prepared to wait for him to return from Lagos.
“He (Kyari) brought with him the money from the sale of the 5kg share of the NDLEA team, a total of $61, 400. Our officer, however, preferred to take the money inside his car. Well, the car was wired with sound and video recorders. And the moment was documented, part of which I will play for you at the end of this briefing.
“Having failed to honour the official invitation, NDLEA has no option but to declare DCP Abba Kyari of the Nigerian Police wanted, right from this very moment.”
The PUNCH had earlier reported that Kyari was indicted in 2021 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States for his alleged role in a $1m scam allegedly perpetrated by alleged international Internet fraudster Ramon Abbas, aka, Hushpuppi and five others.
FBI Special Agent, Andrew Innocenti, had said he obtained voice calls and WhatsApp conversations between Kyari and Hushpuppi, adding that Hushpuppi also paid the police officer N8m 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 but the IGP and the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) evasively continued to shield Kyari till this moment.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Monday, released video evidence showing the suspended head of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), DCP Abba Kyari, in a drug deal.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports this is after the NDLEA first declared Kyari wanted for his involvement in the drug deal.
NDLEA showed footage of Kyari trying to bribe one of its operatives in a bid to carry out a drug heist in the country.
The anti-narcotic agency declared Kyari wanted over alleged links to a drug cartel after he failed to honour the invitation of the NDLEA.
![NDLEA releases video evidence of DCP Abba Kyari negotiating drug deal [Watch]](https://thenewsguru.ng/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Abba-Kyari.jpeg)