From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
Former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Joe Keshi, has said that rather than focusing on the indictment by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the former Head of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, the Nigeria Police Force should carry out a thorough investigation on all the cases Kyari has handled in the course of his career.
Keshi, a former Consul-General of Nigeria in Atlanta, United States, also said that if a proper investigation is carried out on Kyari, the government might even find out that there will be need to try him for some offences in the country before going to the United States.
The ex-Board Chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) who spoke with Sunday Sun in Abuja, said that the Kyari scenario has thrown up a challenge to the Nigeria Police Force to begin to look inwards on how to reform itself.
The Executive Secretary, BRACED Commission, however maintained that as long as there has been no formal request from the United States, the Nigerian government is not obligated to do anything.
The leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, was said to have been extradited from Kenya recently; we also have the case of Chief Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho, who is on trial in Cotonou and now, we are hearing that the FBI has requested that Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, be brought to the United States for questioning. What do you make of these cases?
First, I really don’t think we should mix up all the cases. I think they are really different. Nnamdi Kanu’s own is an exceptional case.
In what sense?
In the sense that there was no extradition request from Nigeria. If there was, maybe it was done secretly. But up till today, nobody has said he was, quote and unquote, officially extradited to Nigeria. The speculation we have is that he was probably arrested and smuggled and handed over to the Nigerian security authorities. And the way it was handled suggests that that is probably what happened. And I am not too sure, you can check for me whether we have extradition treaty with Kenya or wherever they brought him home from. Igboho is another different pot of… that the Federal Government, yes, can apply for him to be extradited to Nigeria. There is a process in all these exercise. There is a process and the process must go through the courts. You must, for example, establish a bonafide case against them and then, you hand it over to the other court. I think this was what was done in the case of Chief Anthony Enahoro in the 60s, which remains the best reference we have in this country. But in the case of Abba Kyari, he is being accused right from the United States for being, quote and unquote, part and parcel of a syndicate that was engaged in some nefarious activities. And his involvement, which is a serious one, is that as a police officer, he provided comfort to some criminals and so on. So, it is the FBI who is demanding. Now, I don’t know whether they have made a formal request or we are all reacting to the information that got out into the media as to his involvement with the guy popularly known as Hushpuppi. I don’t think we should mix them. I think we should separate all because when you separate all, particularly with the last one, the case of the DCP, we will be able to focus and address some fundamental issues that the case is raising, not all these whether he is extradited to the United States, or whether he has done well as a police chief or not. There are issues that we should address as a result of this whole drama.
We have been hearing of extradition in the case of Kyari and from findings, not until a competent court has convicted someone, he cannot be extradited. How do you separate this from the FBI requesting for Kyari for questioning?
No, no, no. Look, you see, when you read some of the things, reports or some of the…, you know the FBI does a thorough investigation. That is not to say that they have not occasionally misfired. But in this case, the evidence is looking, looking overwhelming. And so, if they go to a court and establish these facts, it is now left to the DCP to answer questions. Of course, naturally, he cannot answer questions here. I guess they will have to ask for him to come over there or I don’t know whether they will come in here and question him. Whichever is the case, again, that is why I said we should broaden the conversation, not just to look at whether he is sent to the United States or whether he is not sent to the United States, the broader issue is what I hope Nigerians will sit down and look into.
What is the broader issue?
This is not the first police chief that will be associated or linked with criminals. When you go through the history of policing around the world, it is replete with police chiefs associating themselves with criminals. So, this is not the first one, it is not the second, it is not the third and it will not be the last. There are two things the Nigerian Police should do. Number one, based on the evidence so far, and some other evidence that is coming from people who have been victims of Abba Kyari, the police should go back, set up an independent investigation panel to review all cases that Abba Kyari have been involved with because some have claimed that they have been victim of his actions. There is a need to review all the cases, for one reason, to make sure that innocent people have not been punished, to convince themselves that actually, this is a good guy or a bad guy. This issue has given the Nigerian Police a bad name. The Nigerian Police which already has poor image, this case has further worsened the whole thing. So, when you go through all the cases he has handled, you will be able to find out exactly what kind of man is this, what exactly has he been doing to solve these cases, has he been conniving and anytime they say we need to arrest this man, he knows where they are, he knows where to find them. In other countries where a police chief has been found to associate with criminals, they have gone back to review their cases, the cases he has handled, to make sure either he did the right thing or he did the wrong thing. And invariably, they have found out that most of the cases, the guy did the wrong things. And now that reports are coming out on social media, WhatsApp groups and all that, people saying this is what he did to us, he collected money from us to do this, he allowed our sons to be killed to do this, this is why the police need to find an independent panel to look at all the cases he has treated. The second fundamental issue is that this gives the police an opportunity to begin to think of how seriously to reform itself because there are so many things wrong with the police, from indiscipline to poor leadership, mismanagement of resources, et cetera. When I hear people say the police are not well funded, I believe the police are well funded. I mean, which organ is not well funded? But it is about the police not mismanaging its funds.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, had through his aide, said that he was yet to receive an official communication on Kyari…
This was what I said to you!
The issue of Kyari cuts across the two sectors where you have been, as envoy in the United States, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and you left the service and became the Board Chairman of UBA. What is the proper thing to do as far as this case is concerned?
Look, that is exactly what I am saying. The proper thing to be done is that everybody should calm down. Number one! Everybody should calm down. There are some idiots in this country who are trying to make it, quote me, there are some idiots, some illiterates who are trying to make it an ethnic issue. It is not. It has nothing to do with Southerners; it has nothing to do with anybody collaborating with…. This is an individual who has made a mistake with regards to his career. Period! Number two, is what I told you. It is not a question of trying to save him from being taken to the United States or protect him. This gives us an opportunity to look deeper, into all the problems we have been discussing about the Police Force. It is time we critically look at policing in this country and how to reform the police. As I said, we are talking of the big one, but the small, small ones where they harass people all over this country, where they collect money right on the road and everything they do, that is not policing. Over a hundred and something thousand policemen are doing nothing, but they have been rented to guard the big boys, to be their protector, to guard their homes. Look, if I have my way, they will all be withdrawn. Anybody that wants to live big, there are private security agencies that they can go and hire and have protection for themselves and let the police focus on what it is supposed to do. Number three, we need to train and retrain, particularly the detectives, to be able to do proper investigation. It will be difficult to fault the investigation of the FBI because they had actually done a thorough investigation before they brought out… In fact, they went to court. These are court papers that we are looking at.
What is the diplomatic implication in all of these?
Practically none! Practically none because number one, as long as there has been no formal request, we are not obligated to do anything. We just sit and wait until there is a formal request. We are looking at various courts documents and the case, as I understand, is still ongoing. Even Hushpuppi has not been formally convicted. He just pleaded guilty and I think some of his associates are all awaiting trial.
From the legal perspective, must Kyari go to the United States? Can’t he be questioned here? Can’t the FBI question him here and go back with their findings?
No, because apparently again, I say we don’t have the details. But from the little that we know, it is not only the guy in Dubai that Hushpuppi has duped. He has also duped a number of people in the United States. So, he committed the offence in the United States. Now, if he mentioned that Abba Kyari is also part of his associates and that he gave him money, as now it has come out that he gave him N8 million, it is possible that it is from one of those in the United States that he changed it and gave him money. The point is, as long as he is associated with a criminal who has committed an offence against the United States, his chances of not going to America are very slim.
If he refuses to go, what happens? Will they bundle him to the United States?
No, no, no. Remember the case of the late Buruji Kashamu, the way he fought it. It is not so easy. He can fight it as much as he wants, which is his legal right by the way, but a point will come in which this country, on this issue, will have to take some decisions. A point will come, yes. I don’t doubt that. What we should understand is that these guys have their ways of doing things and you can’t beat it. A point will come when they will make a formal demand once they put everything together. This is why I keep saying for the sake of the image of this country, the police here need to do a thorough investigation of their man. We should be careful the way we handle this. Quote me. We should be careful the way we handle this thing. This thing has no religious or ethnic issue. In fact, as Reuben Abati said and some others have said; it looks as if in the charges they made, federal character is well taken care of. This is a guy who simply has failed himself, who has ruined his career. It is an individual case. The best we can do is to allow the process to run its course. If they don’t demand for him, don’t put pressure. In fact, if we do a proper investigation, we might even find out that there will be need to try him for some offences in this country before going to the United States. Those who are accusing him of murder, those who are accusing him for A, B, C, D, they are crimes against some sections of the Nigerian laws. That is why I am saying, let’s do a proper audit of all activities he has undertaken. Once we do that, everybody will just handover and say ah, look oh, for the sake of this country. We should not out of emotion and ethnic consideration jeopardise this country’s relationship with others.