Abba Kyari, a deputy commissioner
of police (DCP), has been accused of extorting over N41 million from Afeez
Mojeed, a Lagos-based businessman.
The extortion, Mojeed claimed,
was done in 2014 when Kyari was officer in charge of the now disbanded special
anti-robbery squad (SARS) in Lagos.
In a series of petitions between
2016 and 2018, Mojeed sought justice through the Independent Corrupt Practices
And Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC), but to no avail.
In a fresh petition filed on
October 22, 2020, through Salawu Akingbolu & Co, Mojeed’s counsel, and
addressed to the newly formed judicial panel of inquiry and restitution for
victims of SARS-related abuses in Lagos, Kyari and his officers were accused of
forcefully taking about 32 items from Mojeed’s house during a raid in
2014.
The Lagos government had set up a
judicial panel to attend to cases of abuses, especially by the officers of the
disbanded police squad, after the protest against police brutality.
In his petition, Mojeed said his
ordeal began on the night of October 18, 2014, when four gun-wielding policemen
from SARS broke into his house.
The businessman, who was home
with his pregnant wife, 18 month-old son and mother in-law, had thought it was
a robbery attack.
“They forcefully took his wedding
ring and that of his wife from them, opened their wardrobe and took the sum N280,000
and the sum of N50,000 was also taken from his car, after which the Honda
Accord (2008) model was seized and taken away till today,” the petition read.
Phones, landed properties, cheque
books, bank cards and other valuable documents were allegedly taken from his
house.
14 DAYS IN DETENTION
After ransacking the house,
Mojeed was reportedly taken to the SARS office in Ikeja where he was detained
for 14 days– from October 18 to October 31, 2014.
He was later “arraigned on a
trump-up charge” of stealing N97 million and for over one year, the matter was
in court, the police “never showed up or brought any witness”.
Ater several adjournments, the
court reportedly struck out the charge against him.
According to the petition, while
in detention, “the police under the supervision and threat of Abba Kyari (OC
SARS) forced him to sign three Zenith Bank cheques in the sum of N150,000 each
making N450,000 in total on October 22 – 23, 2014 and gave the sum to one Alabi
Olawale Nurudeen who is also one of their cronies to withdraw”.
The police also allegedly
obtained password to his bank card with which they withdrew another N395,000
from his account between October 20 to 23, 2014.
FORCEFUL TRANSFER OF 41 MILLION
Allegedly on the directive of
Kyari, Mojeed was taken by “one Inspector Fola, Corporal Bolu and Corporal
Akeem to Diamond Bank Ajah branch on October 23 and 24, 2014 to forcefully
transfer the sum of 41 Million and N800,000 respectively from his corporate
account M. Mateen Concepts into the account of one Obinna Edward, whom our
client had never seen or heard of before, after which they shared the money.
“All these acts perpetrated on
our client were exhibited with serious injuries inflicted on him due to a
series of slaps and beatings for them to get access to his ATM password,
signature on cheques and also transfer from his account.”
Mojeed’s counsel had confronted
Kyari in his then office in Ikeja on why he would seize his money and
properties without a court order, but Kyari reportedly said he had kept the
money as an exhibit.
“But till date, they have not
released any of the items to him including his car which which we got
information had been taken away by Abba Kyari,” the petition read.
Kyari was also accused of
attempting to connive with Mojeed’s counsel to further extort him.
The senior police officer
reportedly told the counsel that Mojeed was an internet fraudster and that was
why they took the money from him.
“He also went further that there
was another N15 million in another account, that the counsel should cooperate
with him to take it the way they took N41 million and a sum of N5 million would
be given to him while they would take N10 million,” the petition read.
The counsel was allegedly
threatened over the refusal to “cooperate” with Kyari.
A November 14, 2014, medical
report seen by TheCable, showed how Mojeed suffered hearing difficulty, a bad
right eye and recurrent chest pain, all of these following police brutality.
As of the time of filing this
report, Kyari, who now heads the intelligence response team (IRT) of the
inspector-general of police, was unreachable as his telephone lines were
switched off.
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