Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, the spokesperson for the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), has said the suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police, Abba Kyari, linked to suspected fraudster, Ramon Abass, aka Hushpuppi, should prove his innocence by willingly presenting himself before the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), according to a leaked tape.
This contradicts the recent official statement of the group in which it said Kyari’s rights were breached by the Nigeria Police and FBI.
At a recent meeting in Kaduna, the CNG announced that the FBI and the Nigeria Police Force breached the right of the disgraced police chief, to a fair hearing.
It, therefore, asked the police authorities to review the suspension of Kyari, who was the Head of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Nigeria Police Force.
It also called on lawyers from northern Nigeria to mobilise and deploy legal resources to ensure Kyari’s rights are not violated by a foreign power..
A group of about 31 northern Nigerian lawyers responded by volunteering to render legal services to the embattled DCP.
The Northern groups also called for the immediate transfer of his case to the Nigeria Intelligence Agency.
The leaked audio tape in which the CNG expressed a contradictory view to the statement he had issued was shared by Vanguard.
The group’s spokesperson, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman was caught on the tape seeking the suspended DCP’s extradition.
The Attorney’s Office of the United States District Court had alleged that Kyari played a major role in a multi-million dollar fraud perpetrated by Hushpuppi and his co-conspirators.
Hushpuppi, who has pleaded guilty to the fraud, told US prosecutors he gave Kyari part of the proceeds of the crime.
However, Kyari denied allegations of receiving money to the tune one $1.1 million from Hushpuppi.
Suleiman, in the leaked tape, said Kyari must prove his innocence, adding that all the noises from some quarters would not stop the US from trying the embattled police chief.
He said, “Personally, some people asked me and my response was that if he actually knows he is innocent, he should just fly to US, their justice system is not as crazy as ours. If he is found innocent, he can even claim damages but for us to sit here and say this guy cannot go, that is not it. It is pedestrian. But if he is guilty and he cannot prove his innocence and these guys are able to prove their case against him, we should welcome that development because we cannot have someone who is not clean, trusted with the security of our lives.
“That is my personal opinion. If this guy is not afraid, he should go there, I believe all this noise will not stop the US court from continuing with the trial and convicting him in absentia and that will worsen the situation, confiscate his property abroad and get him arrested sometime. I don’t see why our community should cover up for someone who is accused and that is why we as CNG, have fought, not because of tribalism, we have fought and insisted that (Nnamdi) Kanu and (Sunday) Igboho should be prosecuted. We even challenged Southern groups for showing sympathy.
“I don’t see why we should show sympathy for someone who is accused, they should just hand him over. Besides, will that even stop it? We are just making noise, these guys are more organised than us (laughs). If they like, they go through diplomatic channels, put pressure on government and before you know it…”
