Jail officials are contemplating relocating suspended police officer Abba Kyari from the Kuje prison to the custody of the State Security Duty (SSS) after he was nearly murdered by enraged prisoners who accused him of insincerity in bribe-for-release transactions when he was in active service.
According to internal records and authorities obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the attack occurred on May 4, months after Mr Kyari was jailed on drug-related charges. According to an official, his assailants numbered over 190 people, the majority of whom were imprisoned for drug offenses.
Before his arrest, Mr Kyari, 47, was a distinguished officer and the head of the Inspector-General Police's special Intelligence Response Team. First, he was suspended from police work after being implicated as an accomplice in Ramon Abbas' worldwide fraud and money laundering enterprise, colloquially known as Hushpuppi, by American authorities last July.
Then, while on suspension and awaiting the outcome of an internal probe, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in February accused him of involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy. The agency released a video in which Mr Kyari appeared to be describing his use of his team to push drugs and discussing sharing of a criminal fortune.
He was charged to court in March and remanded in Kuje prison.
“Dodgy” bribe-taking cop
The Kuje attackers claimed Mr Kyari prosecuted them despite taking bribes from them, our sources said. One of the sources, a state investigator and intelligence officer, described Mr Kyari as a “dodgy criminal.”
Mr Kyari has not been convicted of any crime and has said he is innocent of the allegations for which he has been charged.
