Agba Jalingo, a journalist and activist, has spoken out about his frightening encounter with Abba Kyari, a disgraced police officer.
According to Jalingo, Kyari put him in the trunk of a car and transported him from Lagos to Calabar, the capital of Cross River State.
The activist also scolded National Drug Law Enforcement Agency officials for failing to handcuff Kyari and other suspects in court on Monday, according to a statement made on Monday.
Kyari and his co-defendants appeared in court in Abuja on Monday after the Federal Government, through the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), charged them with eight charges of conspiracy, obstruction, cocaine peddling, and other connected offenses.
Two of Kyari’s associates pled guilty to the allegations brought against them, but the controversial former chief of the Intelligence Response Team maintained his innocence.
Justice Emeka Nwite refused him bail after that, adjourning the case to Monday and remanding Kyari and the other defendants in NDLEA custody.
In response to Kyari’s presence in court on Monday, Jalingo accused security authorities of providing the officer special treatment.
Jalingo was imprisoned for 179 days at Calabar’s Afokang Prison in 2019 after being charged with treason by Cross River State Governor Benedict Ayade.
On February 17, 2020, he was granted bail and freed.
On Monday, the activist remembered his time in jail and said that Kyari and ACP Sunday Ubua (also in the NDLEA’s net) took him by road in a vehicle trunk from Lagos to Calabar.
“The Cross River Government engaged Abba Kyari and ACP Ubua to arrest me in Lagos, drive me by road in the booth of a Toyota Highlander, and bring me to Calabar,” Jalingo said. “I’ll never forget, and please don’t make me.“
“I was arrested. Every time I went to court, I came with my hands and shackles in the air.
“Today, these persons are in court; these are the same folks who joyfully exhibited their own suspects in the media, even against the law, and who are now covering their faces.”
Last year, the’super’ officer was involved in a fraud case involving Ramon Abbas nicknamed Hushpuppi, and an American judge ordered the Federal Bureau of Investigation to arrest him.
After nearly a year of dithering, the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, finally approved Kyari’s extradition to the United States, but many observers have noted that the extradition process has met a snag with the NDLEA’s argument.
