Claim: An image of the suspended Deputy Police Commissioner, Abba Kyari, standing beside a man in a suit in the US to answer allegations over indictment by the FBI.
The viral photo circulating in posts purporting to show that the former head of the police intelligence response unit, Kyari, voluntarily travelled to the US to clear his name over indictment by the FBI is false as it was recycled from 2019.
Full Text
The immediate past head of the Inspector General of Police’s Intelligence Response Team (IGP-IRT) in Nigeria, Abba Kyari, has been in the eye of the storm in recent times following his indictment by the US District Court of California over his alleged involvement in a $1.1million fraud committed by social media celebrity, Ramon Abbas, otherwise known as “Hushpuppi”.
Kyari’s indictment followed months of discreet investigations by the US’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) which accused him of ties with Abbas and requested a pre-trial arrest and detention for 10 days based on the order of the US court.
Following the outcry that greeted the indictment of Nigeria’s acclaimed super-cop by the US intelligence agency, the Police Service Commission (PSC) suspended kyari, a deputy commissioner of police, based on the recommendation of the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Usman Baba with effect from July 31, 2021.
Kyari is presently facing an investigation panel set up by the IG and headed by DIG Joseph Egbunike.
However, numerous social media posts are circulating the image with claims that Kyari has presented himself to officials of the United States.
More than 500 people have shared the claim in a Facebook post published by Jihar Katsina A Yau.
On August 2, 2021, a Facebook user Jihar Katsina A Yau made a post claiming
The post alleges that Kyari was in the United States, trying to prove his innocence against the charges levelled against him.
The picture, which is accompanied with some words captioned in Hausa, reads: “Political leader of Nigeria, DCP Abba Kyari has landed in California, USA to protect himself from all the accusations thrown against him. May he be protected from any form of accusation and lies and may Allah protect him. A righteous person can’t be stabbed”.
The Facebook post has elicited sympathy and prayers from viewers since its publication on August 2, 2021.
Verification
A reverse image search conducted on the photo found that it was taken in 2019 and posted on Facebook by Kyari himself.
It was posted with the caption, “A visit to the office of the Secretary of States in Washington DC as part of our program. Despite many challenges, I believe we Nigerians can make our country to be equally great by God’s grace,” reads Kyari’s caption on the post published on April 20, 2019.
Kyari is currently facing a probe panel set up by the Nigeria Police.
Conclusion
The picture circulating in posts purporting to show Kyari has travelled to the US to answer allegations of indictment by the FBI is false as it was recycled from 2019.
