The super cop myth around the embattled and now suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, was largely dissipated when international fraudster, Ramon Abass, also known as Hushpuppi, implicated him as a party to a money laundering scheme to the tune of $1.1 million in July 2021. The subsequent indictment of Kyari by a court in the United States and the request by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for his extradition to face trial in that country sent shock waves around Nigeria, given his sensitive position as Commander of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) under the office of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), as well as his image as a no-nonsense officer who had zero tolerance for any form of criminality.

Even though he admitted that Hushpuppi indeed paid some money into an account with his knowledge, Kyari said the purpose was to procure some clothing materials on behalf of the former. Despite the widespread belief that an officer of his status and repute should on no account have any dealings whatsoever with people of shady character, many were still willing to give Kyari the benefit of the doubt, as the public awaited the outcome of investigations into the allegations by the police authorities.

However, the release of a video clip on February 14, 2022, by the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) showing Abba Kyari negotiating the release of some quantity of seized 25kg of cocaine, and offering to pay cash of $61,400 for the purpose dealt another lethal blow not just on Kyari but on the police as an institution. He has since been in detention with the NDLEA and charged to court along with six others on several charges bordering on conspiracy, obstruction and dealing in cocaine.

One question that has bothered many minds was how and why an officer supposedly on suspension and relieved of all police duties pending the outcome of investigations into allegations against him, still had the audacity to engage in an official capacity in the activities for which he was arrested by the NDLEA.

The fact that Kyari wielded an overbearing and clearly unhealthy influence within the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has again been confirmed by the revelation by the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Mr Anthony Ojukwu (SAN), that the cop was shielded from facing numerous cases that were filed against him since 2008. Speaking at a capacity building retreat for the House of Representatives Committee on Human Rights organised by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), Mr Ojukwu said all the petitions against Kyari bordered around human rights violations.

In his words, “I summoned Abba Kyari up to eight times but the authorities shielded him. Every time they will say that he travelled to Lagos, Kaduna or somewhere else. He had so many issues and cases that were brought against him pending before the commission. Since 2008 to 2009, we have been summoning this officer because he had so many petitions against him but he was celebrated as a super cop. Thank goodness that God has used another way to bring him into account”.

But the truth is that the NHRC has no business waiting on God to do its job for the commission. But for the recent travails that have exposed the other side of Kyari, does it mean that the NHRC would have kept mum and the world would not have known of the intransigence of Kyari and the police authorities in responding to allegations of human rights abuses?

In any case, in the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests in October 2020, special tribunals were set up in all the states to listen to petitions from aggrieved members of the public and ensure that justice was done to all those who had suffered human rights abuses by operatives of the now disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). Did the NHRC bring the issue of the petitions against Kyari before these judicial panels or at least encourage the petitioners to file their cases before them? It is certainly not enough for the commission now to draw attention to the excesses of Kyari and the police as an institution when the former super cop is now in obvious disgrace.

But this kind of behaviour is not limited to the police. Security agencies in the country over the years have been loath to allow their personnel to be brought to justice when they run foul of the law. This is a misbegotten sense of espirit de corps, which should have no place in a democratic polity predicated on justice and the rule of law. This revelation by the NHRC indicates once again the inordinate influence that Abba Kyari wielded and perhaps continues to wield in the police. It is difficult to believe that his hyperactivity on social media, showcasing his opulence and associating with elements of shady character never caught the attention of his superiors.

The NPF likes to portray itself as the friend of the public, which is indeed what ought to be the case. The recent massive #EndSARS protests across the country that led to the disbanding of the outfit, however, shows that a vast majority of the people perceive the police rather as enemy number one and perhaps rightly so. Kyari is only a mirror through which the police should see its true colours and hopefully take meaningful steps to effect fundamental institutional change. The police ought to be at the forefront of protecting the human rights of the citizenry, which unfortunately is not the case right now. Of course, there is no perfect police organisation anywhere in the world. But cases of police officers and men violating the human rights of citizens with impunity should be an aberration and not the norm.