By: Kingsley Omonobi – Abuja.
Indications emerged on Wednesday that the Police Service Commission may have found loopholes in the investigative report submitted by the DIG Joseph Egbunike led investigative panel over the alleged involvement of suspended IRT Commander, DCP Abba Kyari in the $1.1million Internet fraud perpetrated by Mr Ramon Abbass aka Hushpuppi.
Consequently, the Commission has reverted the report findings back to IGP Usman Alkali Baba for further investigation and clarity with regards to the specific indictment’s pointed out by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.
At a Press Briefing on December 21, 2021, the Commissioner in Charge of Media and Publicity of the PSC, Mr Austin Braimoh, when speaking on issues of discipline and when indicted Police officers including Abba Kyari’s case will be reviewed and sanctions meted out, disclosed that cases of discipline and the fate of DCP Abba Kyari whose investigation report had been submitted to the commission will be sorted out by January/February 2022 by the commission and that the final decision will be made known.
Braimoh had said, “There are several disciplinary cases involving officers and the Police Service Commission will look into them together which is the practice. The PSC is not going to set up a panel to try DCP Abba Kyari or look into his case separately.
“The plenary has not deliberated on the aspect of discipline for officers. It will be looked into jointly with other disciplinary cases of other officers having issues. Kyari’s case and others will be decided after due consideration of everything. We do not treat any disciplinary cases in isolation.
On when the planery will reconvene, he said, “The planery for disciplinary issues is adjourned till February 2022. What we considered today are promotion and appeals.”
Recall that at the last plenary, the PSC presided by its Chairman, former IGP Musiliu Smith, after its 13 plenary meeting in Abuja which was held on Monday 20 December and Tuesday 21 December, directed a Commissioner of Police, CP Abdulkarim Dauda to tender his letter of retirement with immediate effect for breach of due process and illegal extension of tenure.
Abdulkarim Dauda who was a one time Chief Security Officer (CSO) to former President Goodluck Jonathan and also worked briefly with President Muhammadu Buhari and was due for retirement from the NPF after attaining the mandatory 35 years in service was also been directed to refund salaries he collected from the Police from January 2020 to December 2021.
Though CP Dauda claimed that he was given an extension of service during the tenure of former IGP Mohammed Adamu to the year 2021, the PSC said all the records were searched and there was nowhere or any document showing that President Muhammadu Buhari approved an extension for him while there was also no record showing when or where IGP Adamu authorized his extension of service.
“So the board of the PSC having discovered several infractions on the issue of extension for CP Abdulkarim Dauda without due process rejected the extension and backdated his retirement to 1st of January 2020 when he was actually due for retirement”, Mr Braimoh said.
Concerning Abba Kyari, a source in the commission told Vanguard that the decision of the PSC to return the investigative panel report was backed up by advice by the office of the minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami whose office the commission reverted the panel’s report to after receiving it from IGP Usman Alkali.
In order to meet up with its scheduled plenary meeting where matters of discipline and other infractions against several Police officers will be deliberated upon and decisions are taken, the PSC was said to have given the Force headquarters 14 days within which to conclude the new review and revert to the commission.
Recall that DCP Abba Kyari was suspended in July 2021 over the Hushpuppi fraud allegations after he was queried, to allow for unhindered investigation and replaced by DCP Tunji Disu as IRT Commander.
