Abba Kyari: AGF office yet to receive official communication – Malami’s aide

Umar Gwandu, an aide to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has said that the AGF Office has not received any official communication on the arrest warrant issued against a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States over the cop’s indictment in a $1.1m cyber fraud involving a suspect, Abass Ramon aka Hushppuppi..

Gwandu, who is Malami’s Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, disclosed this in a telephone interview with The PUNCH on Monday night.

The PUNCH had earlier reported that the FBI alleged that Hushpuppi paid Kyari N8m to detain a co-conspirator, Chibuzor Vincent, after the latter threatened to expose the $1.1m fraud to the victim, a Qatari businessman.

Though Kyari denied the allegations, the Police Service Commission, at the recommendation of the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, suspended the police officer on Sunday.

The IGP had also acknowledged the receipt of FBI’s allegations against Kyari and ordered a probe into the matter.

Hushpuppi, who has since pleaded guilty, risk at least 20 years in jail. He is scheduled to be sentenced in October, according to the US District Court for the Central District of California.

The court, however, did not state whether Kyari and four others indicted in the crime would also be in court with Hushpuppi in October.

When asked whether the AGF Office has received any communication from the FBI or the Nigerian Police regarding the arrest warrant issued against Kyari, Malami’s aide said the office has not been informed.


The AGF office is responsible for matters regarding extradition, repatriation and transfer of suspects or wanted persons.

“There is no official communication to that effect,” Gwandu told our correspondent.

The AGF aide also said a transfer process won’t commence until there is a request from the US to the effect.

He, however, assured that “everything will be done according to the rule of law and based on the dictates of the extant provisions of the law”.

Meanwhile, human rights lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, has urged the US to write the Nigerian Government through the AGF Office seeking the transfer of Kyari.

“FBI cannot simply come here and pick up Abba Kyari. You must go through the extradition process as established in the Extradition Act of the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2004. You have to look at Sections 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the extradition act,” Ozekhome said in a television interview on Monday.

This newspaper had also reported that the IGP on Monday appointed Tunji Disu, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, to replace Kyari as the new Head of the Police Intelligence Response Team.

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