Deputy commissioner of police Abba Kyari has denied collecting bribe from Nigerian Instagram celebrity Ramon Abass aka Hushpuppi to facilitate the arrest and detention of one Kelly Chibuzor Vincent.
According to a statement released on Wednesday by the US Justice Department, Hushpuppi, Vincent and others conspired to steal $1.1million from a businessperson attempting to finance the construction of a school for children in Qatar.
The statement further said that Hushpuppi asked Mr Kyari to jail Vincent after both were locked in a dispute over how to share the money which Kyari did and also sent photos before allegedly sending a bank account number where the bribe should be paid into.
Responding to the development, Kyari said in a statement posted on Instagram on Thursday that he never collected a dime from Hushpuppi to arrest anyone.
“Abbas who we later came to know as Hushpuppi called our office about 2years ago that somebody in Nigeria Seriously threatened to kill his Family here in Nigeria and he sent the person’s Phone number and pleaded we take action before the Person attacks his family,” he said.
“We traced and arrested the Suspect and after investigations we discovered there wasn’t an actual threat to anyone’s life And they are long time friends who have money issues between them hence we released the Suspect on bail to go and he was not taken to any jail.
“Nobody demanded for a kobo from Abbas Hushpuppi. Our focus was to Save people’s lives that were purported to have been threatened.
“Later, he 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. We responded to a distress call he made on threat to his family and released the Suspect when we discovered there was no life threat from the Suspect. This is the true story. Vincent is alive, he can be contacted.”
Kyari said that those celebrating that this is an indictment on him would be disappointed once again, adding that his record of service for two decades is open for everybody to see.
