….Says Former Hackers Have Been Recruited By Govts To Assist In Cyber Security Defences
Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
The International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has drummed for a strategic and conditional presidential pardon for detained Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Abba Kyari, giving the rising threats to Nigeria’s internal security.
Truth Live News Media reports that Abba Kyari, already suspended for allegedly helping self-avowed fraudster Hushpuppi to launder his money in the US, is now accused in a cocaine plot.
Officials say Mr Kyari asked a colleague to help him siphon off part of a cocaine haul.
They say he was caught on camera handing over $61,400 (£45,400) in cash.
Mr Kyari’s arrest came hours after Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) declared him a wanted man, accusing him of being “a member of a drug cartel that operates the Brazil-Ethiopia-Nigeria illicit drug pipeline”.
He was arrested along with four other officers – Sunday Ubuah, Bawa James, Simon Agrigba and John Nuhu – following a “high-level discreet” investigation, a police statement said. It added that one other officer – John Umoru – remained “at large”.
As part of its investigations, Nigerian police also said a number of anti-drugs officers at the international airport of the south-eastern city of Enugu were found to be “on the payroll” of the same cartel Mr Kyari is accused of working for.
Recall too that Mr Kyari, 46, once had a reputation of being a “super cop” who investigated big criminal cases.
He received a presidential medal of courage from Mr Buhari in 2016 after his team rescued three kidnapped schoolgirls in Lagos.
He was also honoured by the Lagos state government, winning the top award for gallantry three years in a row between 2011 and 2013, and he was known for fraternising with politicians and celebrities.
But he was suspended from the force in August 2021 after the US instituted indictment proceedings against him, following allegations that he facilitated payments to Nigerian police personnel from Instagram celebrity Hushpuppi – whose real name is Ramon Abbas.
The call for his Presidential Pardon was contained in a statement issued by Ambassador Duru Hezekiah, the IHRC Head of Diplomatic Mission in Nigeria but the group affirmed its respect for the on-going judicial proceedings against the suspended DCP.
Hezekiah explained that the call was not aimed at influencing court decisions, but to seek consideration of strategic national interests, especially if not feasible during the trial’s course.
“Our position is not to circumvent justice or interrupt legal processes. Rather, we urge a future-focused, constitutionally grounded approach that recognises the tactical value of experienced security personnel—if found eligible under law and subject to public accountability,” he said.
While reaffirming its commitment to justice and the rule of law, the IHRC proposed that Nigeria could consider conditional clemency, citing Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which empowers the President to potentially grant pardons and reprieves.
“Globally, there are precedents where convicted individuals with valuable operational expertise have been reintegrated into national service through conditional frameworks, under strict legal and ethical oversight.
“In the United States, law enforcement agencies have regularly offered plea bargains or deferred sentencing in exchange for intelligence or cooperation.
“Former hackers have been recruited by governments to assist in cyber security defences. In post-conflict African states, ex-warlords have been granted conditional amnesties to enable peace and stability,” it said.
The IHRC emphasised that such conditional clemency should not be viewed as forgiveness, but as a pragmatic tool of national security strategy, particularly when the individual involved has demonstrated proven tactical and intelligence capabilities that could aid national stability, if lawfully and transparently redeployed.
“A conditional pardon for Kyari, subject to public accountability, could transform a controversial figure into a rehabilitated asset in Nigeria’s fight against crime,” the commission said.
