The FBI revealed this in an affidavit issued before the United States District Court by a Special Agent with the FBI, Andrew John Innocenti.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the US has revealed how Nigeria’s Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari sent numerous photographs of himself, some of which also included his name to serial internet fraudster, Ramon ‘Hushpuppi’ Abbas.
The FBI revealed this in an affidavit issued before the United States District Court by a Special Agent with the FBI, Andrew John Innocenti.
The agency added that Kyari also abandoned his duties in Nigeria sometime in 2019 and flew to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, to “enjoy a good time” with Hushpuppi, who lived at Palazzo Versace in the Emirati commercial capital.
The affidavit showed that the police boss, using the phone number +2349099999131, sent Hushpuppi a photograph of him sitting at a desk in his office on September 8, 2019.
The FBI agent, in the affidavit added that Kyari sent the internet fraudster a link to an article in the Nigerian publication “The Independent” describing how he was being honoured by the House of Representatives.
“KYARI communicated with Abbas (Hushpuppi) primarily using the phone numbers +2349099999131 and +2348120000043—both of which ABBAS had saved with contact names including 'ABBA KYARI,' as discussed below. KYARI’s messages to ABBAS contained numerous photographs of himself, some of which also included his name.
“For example, using the phone number +2349099999131—which ABBAS had saved as "ABBA KYARI'—KYARI sent ABBAS the following photograph, on September 8, 2019:
This image depicts KYARI sitting at a desk, surrounded by multiple photographs of himself.
Zooming in on the image revealed that the nameplate on the desk says “DCP ABBA A. KYARI” and a photograph on the wall states “DCP ABBA KYARI” and “THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE.” “DCP” is an acronym for “Deputy Commissioner of Police,” which is KYARI’s title in the Nigeria Police Force. A magnified version of the latter photograph is included here:
"Using the phone number +2348120000043—which ABBAS had saved as “ABBA KYARI NEW NUMB”— KYARI sent several images of himself to ABBAS in April and May 2020, including the following:
Additionally, on June 9, 2020, KYARI sent ABBAS a link to an article in the Nigerian publication “The Independent,” describing how the Deputy Commissioner of Police, ABBA KYARI, was being honoured by the Nigerian House of Representatives.
A screenshot of it is included below:
Innocenti said in the court documents: "I reviewed online articles about KYARI, which indicated that KYARI is an Inspector General of the Police’s Intelligence Response Team and a Deputy Commissioner of Police in Nigeria. KYARI previously managed the Special Anti- Robbery Squad, commonly known as SARS, as the Officer-In-Charge for several years. Articles referred to KYARI as a 'super cop' of the Nigeria Police Force, and described him as 'The Most Decorated Officer In The History Of The Nigerian Police.'
"KYARI has been awarded many accolades, including recognition for his performance by the Nigerian House of Representatives in June
2020, which KYARI informed ABBAS of via the news article discussed above.
“I also reviewed other articles, from October and November 2020, which indicated that KYARI had been accused of falsely arresting and extorting a businessman in Lagos. Based on those articles, KYARI’s work, in general, appears to have related primarily to kidnapping cases, and I did not see any articles suggesting that KYARI worked on fraud cases.
“Finally, I have reviewed a certified NIV application submitted by ABBA ALHAJI KYARI, in April 2019. This application included one of the aforementioned phone numbers (09099999131) that KYARI used to communicate with ABBAS, as well as a date of birth in March of 1975, and KYARI’s Nigerian passport number ending in 3677. The NIV application also included the following photograph, which is consistent with the other photographs of KYARI shown above:
“Based on messages I reviewed, ABBAS appears to have first interacted with KYARI in September 2019, when KYARI travelled to the U.A.E. The conversation indicated that ABBAS sent a car and driver to drive KYARI during that trip. Soon thereafter, KYARI sent ABBAS a video slideshow which showed some personal photographs of KYARI, some of which appeared to have been taken in the U.A.E. Later in September, after KYARI sent ABBAS an article that discussed him arresting alleged kidnappers, ABBAS wrote, in part, to KYARI, 'Am really happy to be ur boy,' and later, 'I promise to be a good boy to u sir,'" the affidavit read.