The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has dismissed reports that the four-man panel constituted to probe suspended Abba Kyari has submitted its report.
Mr Kyari, a deputy commissioner of police, was fingered as a member of an internet fraud syndicate in a fraudulent deal amounting to $1.1million.
The DCP, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that indicted him, helped one Ramon Abbas popularly known as Hushpuppi to arrest and detain a co-conspirator of Mr Abbas known as Vincent Chibuzo so as to allow the deal go on successfully without the latter interrupting as he initially wanted to before being arrested and detained.
The embattled officer who earlier declared himself clean admitted arresting Mr Chibuzo and explained that the only monetary connection between him and the fraudster who has pleaded guilty was a fashion design deal amounting to N300,000 which was not even paid to him directly.
When the FBI released court documents detailing the conversations between messrs Abbas and Kyari and how the latter received N8million naira from the former, the embattled officer edited his rebuttal twelve times to now portray himself as a dept collector who recovered the said amount for a friend of the fraudster.
While the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Baba, recommended his suspension, the police commission approved it for further investigations.
A four-man panel set up to probe the allegations was earlier reported to have submitted its findings but police spokesman, Frank Mba, dismissed it as untrue, saying the panel was yet to conclude investigations let alone submit its report.
“The Nigeria Police Force wishes to inform the general public that the probe into the alleged indictment of DCP Abba Kyari by the FBI, being conducted by the NPF Special Investigation Panel (SIP), is still ongoing,” Mr Mba said in a statement on Tuesday. “Members of the public are enjoined to note that the panel has not submitted its report to the Inspector General of Police, as being wrongly reported in some news outlet and online platforms.
“The Force hereby reassures the public that the outcome of investigations by the probe panel would be communicated accordingly upon conclusion of the investigations,” he added.
