Listen to him: “He (Hushpuppi) saw some of my native clothes and caps on my social media page and he said he likes them and he was connected to the person selling the clothes and he sent about N300k directly to the person’s account. The native clothes and caps (5 sets) were brought to our office and he sent somebody to collect them in our office. Nobody demanded any money from Abbas Hushpuppi and nobody collected any money from him.”

According to the narrative by the top cop, his contact with Hushppuppi began when the later called him to report a case of threat to life which he successfully resolved. This is not a strange occurrence in Nigeria because if you are known to have enough money in your pockets, you can always put a direct call to the police chief and get him to personally attend to your complaints with despatch.

However, the rest of the story doesn’t seem to add up. Let us try to deconstruct his Statement of defense for the pitfalls.

1. Hushppupi calls Abba Kyari to lodge a complaint.
2. Abba Kyari investigates complain and resolves the issue
   3.Hushppupi looks up Abba Kyari Facebook page sees attires he likes and indicated interest to Abba Kyari to have some made for himself.
   4.Abba Kyari connects Hushppupi to the clothes designer.
3. Hushppupi having gotten the contact of the clothes designer makes payment directly to him.
4. Clothes were made but instead of being delivered directly to Hushppupi or any agent of his, were delivered at Abba Kyari office from where the clothes were picked up by Hushppupi’s agents.

For a top cop tauted as one of the Police’ best intelligence officers, credited with the arrest of several criminals, Abba Kyari surely doesn’t know how to think like a criminal. His defense is bereft of the kind of intelligence expected of a cop of his status and clearly comes out as a weak defense of one caught red-handed with his hands in the till.

Firstly, Hushppupi is not known to be a fan of native clothes or caps. A caussory look through his social media handles shows him to be a “connoisseur” of foreign designer attires by Gucci and the likes. Those clothes, if indeed were made and delivered to Kyari’s office, were most probably made and sent Abba Kyari as bribe. If the Hushppupi we know were to be interested in making native attires, it is not to Abba Kyari that he will turn. Abba Kyari certainly do not look like a fashion icon from his Facebook page.

Secondly, Abba Kyari had no business acting as a collection agent between Hushppupi and the clothes designer/seller after he had as he claimed, directly connected both of them. Something doesn’t look right with that story and Abba Kyari being a top intelligence officer would have himself found the story suspicious and deserving of further investigation, were he to be on other side.

There is an African proverb that says “the way you keep a white cloth away from palm oil to prevent it from getting stained, is the same way you keep palm oil away from white cloth.”

A couple of weeks ago or thereabouts, the same Abba Kyari was prominently in the midst of rich young men in a ceremony that witnessed the most outrageous and obscene display of wealth yet to be seen in the nation’s recorded history. Today he is being fingered in a case of fraud involving another young man known for indecorous and rapacious display of wealth. Honey surely attracts bees.

In a saner country, such weighty allegation against a police officer holding such a strategic position would be investigated and dealt with timeously without let or hindrance, but as with everything Nigerian, the matter is already attaining various colouration. Some are already jumping to his defense with the most ridiculous of reasons. While it is important to abide with the notion of innocence until proven guilty, the weight of the allegation and the sensitive nature of the office of the accused requires immediate action.

Abba Kyari should be investigated and if found wanting, prosecuted. In fact owing to the weakness of his statement of defense in this matter, he ought to be told to step aside until investigations are concluded