After the last essay I wrote on Abba Kyari, entitled, “Abba Kyari: Revisiting the Case of a Super Cop”, a number of people called me to ask about my interest and relationship with Mr. Abba Kyari. I told them that I have no interest other than fighting crime that is growing in a frightening dimension in the present-day Nigeria; an ugly development that seems to have overwhelmed the police and other security agencies in Nigeria. And I believe that every right thinking citizen of Nigeria should be concerned as I am about the rising spate of criminal activities in country now.
My position is that Abba Kyari who is yet to be convicted for alleged criminal offences while in office as the head of police special squad be released and reinstated and be placed under strict observation. He is not the first person to be reinstated to office. In the past there have been dismissed officers who were reinstated. As I have noted earlier, I am convinced that he has learnt his lessons. If he is recalled, he will thread with caution and be more dedicated to his assigned duties. Sources from Kuje Prison where he is currently incarcerated indicate that his conduct is exemplary. An instance was when there was a jail break at Kuje Prison where he had ample opportunity to escape but as an officer of the law who should lead by example and one who has learnt his lesson, he did not. Yes, his case is that of abuse of office but such things happen where there are no effective checks and balances in the system. Clearly, Kyari is a victim of a loose system. It is also insinuated that he was a victim of jealousy and set-up by envious colleagues. Whatever the case, I am of the opinion that his case should be reviewed in view of the prevailing circumstances. Everyone has his weaknesses but with greater institutional monitoring such excesses may be curtailed.
I am not in any way related to Abba Kyari as some may have presumed. Abba Kyari is from Borno state. I am Sokoto state by birth and Anambra state by marriage but I am interested in his case because I am troubled about the terrifying crime rate in Nigeria and the apparent helplessness or negligence of the nation’s security agencies. However, I do not presume that he is indispensable but available records show that he has been tried and tested in the area of crime-fighting and found capable of combating crime much more than his contemporaries in the field. Much as I agree that nobody is indispensable, our crime record after the suspension of Kyari from duty in 2021 and his arrest in February 2022 clearly indicates that there may be no capable replacement for him thus necessitating the need to release him and reinstate him to continue with what he knows best to do – crime fighting.
Crime fighting is a vocation and a passion which Abba Kyari has in full measure. His record of crime bursting in Nigeria is clearly nonpareil. He is the most decorated crime officer in Nigeria’s history. His record speaks volume and they are in public space for all to see. Abba Kyari who was the head of the Inspector General of Police’s (IGP) Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Nigeria Police Force has proved his mettle and an intelligent and a committed officer. He has international recognition as a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
An unofficial police source indicates that since his suspension from duty following the Hushpuppi case and his arrest in February 2021 following his alleged involvement in a drug case, crime rate in the country has snowballed to an unimaginable proportion. Every part of the country is infested with crime and daring criminal elements that operate with impunity. The once peaceful Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), now has swarms of criminals and bandits operating unhindered unlike when Kyari was in charge of the IGP-IRT squad. When Kyari was in charge of the IGP-IRT team, he was a thorn in the flesh of the criminals in the country. To the criminal elements, the fear of Abba Kyari is the beginning of wisdom. He was feared by the kidnappers for he tracked and arrested the most dreaded of them all – Wadume and Evans. He was also dreaded by the bandits most of whom he traced and smoked out of their hideouts.
Admittedly, there is no gainsaying that his assignment as a crime fighter may have exposed him to have interface with some criminal elements in the society like the notorious fraudster, Ramon Abbas alias Hushpuppi, and drug kingpins. This is understandable. But there are people with worse crime record and scandals in the current regime that are still occupying public offices even when they are clueless and useless.
In view of the above, I make bold to say that if the current IGP and the federal government are interested in combating crime, they need to be pragmatic and the likes of DCP Abba Kyari with his wealth of experience must be considered and hence the need to review his case and reinstate him before we lose our country to bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements. People like Abba Kyari should also be considered for the chairmanship of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) if we are to make any headway in the fight against corruption too.
Hajia Hadiza Mohammed, an actress, social activist, politician, writes from London, UK via [email protected]
