On Monday, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency declared Abba Kyari (the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police), wanted for drug trafficking.
Briefing newsmen on the event, Femi Babafemi, the spokesperson for NDLEA, lamented that some regulation enforcement brokers had been aiding and abetting drug trafficking within the nation.
Narrating how Abba Kyari was caught red-handed within the crime, the spokesman, whereas briefing the press stated:
“Gentlemen of the press, there isn’t any higher technique to begin this press briefing than to remind us concerning the enormity of the drug drawback Nigeria has on its hand and the crucial of all well-meaning Nigerians to play a constructive function in curbing the illicit drug menace.
“Even earlier than the damning findings of the 2018 National Drug Use and Health Survey, Nigeria’s drug drawback was getting near epidemic proportion.
“And if something, the arrests and seizures by NDLEA prior to now 12 months is a sign that the nation’s drug drawback was grossly underestimated earlier than President Muhammadu Buhari’s resolve to strengthen the NDLEA and the following launch of offensive motion by the Agency to scrub the society of the menace.
“And in simply 12 months, even probably the most cynical of Nigerians now agree that the nation is admittedly in a drug quagmire and due to this fact appreciates the relentless efforts of NDLEA operatives.
“Unfortunately, some regulation enforcement brokers who needs to be companions within the pursuit of the President’s mandate are on the forefront of breaking the regulation, as they support and abet drug trafficking within the nation.
“Today, we’re pressured to declare one in all such regulation enforcement brokers wanted within the individual of suspended DCP Abba Kyari, the erstwhile Commander of Intelligence Response Team (IRT) on the Force Intelligence Bureau of the Nigerian Police Force.
“With the intelligence at our disposal, the Agency believes strongly that DCP Kyari is a member of a drug cartel that operates the Brazil-Ethiopia-Nigeria illicit drug pipeline, and he must reply questions that crop up in an ongoing drug case by which he’s the principal actor. His failure to cooperate pressured the hand of the Agency and that’s the reason for this press briefing.
“Let me give a synopsis of what transpired.
“The saga began on Friday, January 21, 2022, when DCP Kyari initiated a name to one of many NDLEA officers in Abuja at 2:12 pm. When the officer returned the decision two minutes later, Kyari knowledgeable him he was coming to see him, to debate an operational matter after the Juma’at service.
“He appeared on the agreed venue of the assembly with the officer and went straight to the crux of the matter. This was it: His crew had intercepted and arrested some traffickers that got here into the nation from Ethiopia with, in response to him, 25kg of cocaine.
“He proposed a drug deal whereby he and his crew are to take 15kg of the cocaine and depart 10kg for the prosecution of the suspects arrested with the illicit drug in Enugu. In the meantime, the purloined cocaine can be changed with a dummy price 15kg. He requested the NDLEA officer to influence males of the FCT Command, to play alongside as properly.
“Now, anyone who’s in contact with the fact of the renewed drug conflict by NDLEA since January 18, 2021, would know that that was a tall order as a result of our officers and males have rededicated themselves to the conflict towards illicit medication and what Kyari was asking for was not tenable, not on this new dispensation, not with the brand new NDLEA. We can recall that one in all our officers was in the identical state of affairs in May 2021 when a drug kingpin, Ejiofor Felix Enwereaku, flew from Brazil to Nigeria to barter the discharge of a 27.95 kg cargo of cocaine intercepted on the MMIA.
“The drug lord provided a bribe of $24, 500, however our officer positioned responsibility above pecuniary curiosity. We all know the way the episode ended. That is the ethos of the brand new NDLEA. And our officer proved it once more this time by reporting to the authorities.
“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 sport.
“At this level, Kyari disclosed that the 15kg (already taken out) was shared between the informants that supplied data for the seizure and he and his males of the IRT of the Nigerian Police. According to him, the informants got 7kg whereas his crew took 8kg which was already offered.
“He then provided to pay the NDLEA crew (that’s the officer and the FCT commander) by promoting, on their behalf, half of the remaining 10kg, thereby additional decreasing the unique cocaine for the prosecution to only 5kg.
“At N7m per kilogram, the proceed from the 5kg would quantity to N35m, on the change charge of N570 per greenback being the black market charge for the day, January 24, 2022. In impact, he could be delivering $61, 400 to the NDLEA crew.
“He put stress on our officer to wrap up the association with the commander of the FCT Command to take custody of the drug and suspects from his males who had been on floor in Abuja. At the time, he was talking from Lagos, the place he allegedly travelled for non-public enterprise.
“The subsequent day January 25, Kyari provided to ship his youthful brother to ship the fee whereas his males ship the suspects, however our officer turned down the suggestion, insisting he would fairly cope with him in individual and was due to this fact ready to attend for him to return from Lagos. And by 5: 23 pm, Kyari was in Abuja and met with the officer on the identical rendezvous the place they’d the primary assembly.
“In their dialogue, he disclosed how his crew obtained the knowledge from a double-crosser who betrayed the traffickers to him, exhibiting a sordid connection between regulation enforcement brokers and the drug underworld; he narrated how appearing on the tip-off, his crew departed Abuja to Enugu and arrested the traffickers, eliminated a part of the consignment on his instruction and changed identical with dummies.
“He additionally indicated establish the remnant of the unique cocaine that will be delivered to NDLEA, 5 unique packages marked with purple dots.
“The purpose for this was to keep away from the dummies being subjected to check. He forwarded an image of the marked unique cocaine package deal. According to the plan, as soon as the 5kg cocaine has been examined within the presence of the suspects and confirmed constructive, there could be no want to check the remaining ones, being dummies.
“He additionally introduced with him the cash from the sale of the 5kg share of the NDLEA crew, a complete of $61, 400. Our officer, nonetheless, most popular to take the cash inside his automobile. Well, the automobile was wired with sound and video recorders. And the second was documented, a part of which I’ll play for you on the finish of this briefing.
“So we’ve got a trove of intelligence, arduous info, from chats to photographs and video and an in depth transcript of the communication between him and the NDLEA officer.
“This isn’t the place to delve into the main points. But it’s disheartening to listen to straight from the horse’s mouth the type of sleaze engaged in by this crew of rogue regulation enforcement brokers led by Kyari, the members of whom he described this manner: “the boys are very, very sharp, they’re very loyal.
“It is disheartening to hear him say of this rogue team, and I quote: “I do take good care of them, and this kind of work is done by only that team.”
“It is equally disheartening to listen to him give particulars of one other comparable operation which they pulled off, three weeks in the past, in response to him.
“Well, I’m not right here to scrub his soiled linen within the public. But I would like us to grasp how we arrive at this juncture whereby we’re having this press briefing.
“NDLEA has the mandate to take custody of suspects and consignments of medicine seized by different arms of regulation enforcement. And there’s a commonplace protocol for such switch. This we duly adopted. The suspects and medicines had been delivered to us on February 8 however the final a part of the method, but to be accomplished, is the debriefing of Kyari.
“Gentlemen of the press, DCP Abba Kyari was invited by NDLEA for debriefing on Thursday February 10 by two important channels as a result of there’s a entire lot of questions begging for solutions. The invitation was reputable and formal in response to our protocol. But up until the shut of workplace hours on Friday, February 11, he refused to reply. Up until this second, he hasn’t responded.
“We are a law-abiding company of presidency. We comply with due course of. In that vein, we is not going to detain suspects past the stipulated interval in response to the regulation earlier than we cost them to courtroom. And Kyari should be debriefed earlier than the suspects are arraigned in courtroom. Having did not honour the official invitation, NDLEA has no possibility however to declare DCP Abba Kyari of the Nigerian Police WANTED, proper from this very second.
“I need to say this publicly. We aren’t unaware of threats to the lives of NDLEA officers concerned on this investigation, whilst we proceed to do our greatest to guard our officers and males within the line of responsibility.
“We are making this sturdy assertion to these considering dangerous motion towards NDLEA officers. They would solely reach compounding their issues within the occasion of the homicide of or hurt to officers and males of NDLEA.
Thank you.”
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