More details have emerged on how suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Abba Kyari earned the undying loyalty of operatives of the elite police group, the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), a relationship he was said to have built way back.
It has been revealed that despite his suspension, Kyari still had his hold on the operatives and called the shots under the table through his deputy, ACP Sunday Ubua, who was also seconded to Disu.
The IRT, an elite unit set up by then Inspector General of Police, was to tackle high profile crimes like kidnapping and even terrorism.
Headed then by Kyari, the team soon made its mark as a squad that was out to tackle crime given the constant arrests and the category of cases they busted.
But Kyari did not come upon such a team by happenstance; he had groomed them from Lagos, when he was the commander in charge-of-the-state (Special Anti Robbery Squad SARS), although now disbanded.
While at SARS, the team forged stronger through cracking cases but were at different times accused of extra judicial killings and other allegations of fraud and obtaining money from families of suspects to release them.
The case that brought him to national limelight was that of Evans Onwuamadike, the ‘Billionaire kidnapper’, who was arrested by Kyari and his team.
Although the ground work that led to his arrest was done by DCP Tunji Disu, who was at that time the Commander of the Lagos State Rapid Response Squad (RRS) with support from then Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, Kyari and men took the glory and promotions that came with it.
But the high profile arrest was tainted by how Kyari’s men allegedly re-looted the loot Evans obtained from his victims, forcefully.
During the raid, the operatives were alleged to have packed both local and foreign currencies, exotic phones, designer wristwatches, jewelry, television and even glass cups.
In a petition by Evans through his lawyers, he accused Kyari and men of forcibly taking N50 million from him and N5million from his wife under the pretext that he would be released on bail.
Evans also deposed in the affidavit that he was dispossessed of $10,000 by the same police officers.
For each operation, the bond between Kyari and men forged stronger as they weathered one allegation after the other.
It was part of measures by the police hierarchy to cut the seeming excesses of the group that IRT alongside the STS, was integrated into the Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB) headed by Ibrahim Lamorde.
In spite of that move, the team was still dogged with countless petitions and allegations of human rights abuse and corruption. Yet, there was seemingly nothing much the authorities could do because of the godfathers said to be behind Kyari.
But following his suspension by the PSC on the recommendation of the present IGP, Baba, over the Hushpuppi case, it seemed he was finally caged.
Unbeknownst to the police hierarchy, he was still calling the shots at the IRT despite the capable hands of DCP Tunji Disu, who was detailed by the IG to take over the unit.
THISDAY checks revealed that Kyari was still carrying out discreet illegal operations through his then deputy, who was as well seconded to Disu, when he assumed office.
A senior officer, who spoke on anonymity to THISDAY from the force headquarters said when Ubua was questioned by the IG, he said he was forced to obey orders from Kyari, because the suspended DCP assured him he would soon be reinstated by the force.
But when the NDLEA authorities briefed the IG on the case against Kyari and his men, they were all invited for questioning and Disu said he handed over to his deputy, because he had an operation to carry out in Sokoto.
This much was confirmed by the deputy, who said he carried out the operation without informing the head of the unit on the request of Kyari.
The source said: “The force is at a terrible spot at the moment. How did DCP Kyari think for a moment that he would be reinstated after the FBI fiasco? Who was giving him such assurance? It was a stunned IG, who heard that he kept assuring his boys that DCP Disu would be removed and he would be reinstated.
“That, however, does not exonerate ACP Ubua, who should know better than to place loyalty to man over the police force he pledged to serve. The only good thing that came out from this was that the IG finally signed the appeal by DCP Disu to allow him raise his own team and not use those inherited from his predecessor.”
THISDAY carried out subsequent checks on what gave Kyari such hopes that he would be cleared as usual and reinstated despite the damning allegations by FBI.
Another source in the know said Kyari was parroting that the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) was behind his woes.
His words: “When the Hushpuppi incident happened, he reassured us that it would soon fizzle out and he would be reinstated. According to him, his woes were orchestrated by IPOB given that he had arrested some of them in different operations.
“He told us that the FBI lawyer had Igbo affiliations and was probably sympathetic to the Biafra cause. So, we shouldn’t worry, because his godfathers were on top of the case to get him reinstated.”
But contrary to allegations that the police authorities had scrapped IRT and STS, the IG has set plans in motion to sanitise the units by posting fresh officers that would be ready to take instructions from their commander.
Chiemelie Ezeobi in Lagos, Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
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