Saturday, September 12, 2026

U.S. Court orders FBI to arrest, detain Abba Kyari over Hushpuppi multimillion-dollar fraud

Judge Wright’s permission for the FBI to arrest Mr Kyari and hold him in U.S. custody was unsealed on July 26.

• July 29, 2021
Abba Kyari
Abba Kyari

A warrant of arrest has been issued for Nigeria’s police commissioner Abba Kyari, Peoples Gazette can report based on court documents.

Otis Wright of the United States District Court for the Central District of California ordered the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to track down Mr Kyari and produce him in the United States for his role in a multi-million dollar fraud perpetrated by Ramon ‘Hushpuppi’ Abbas, a notorious Nigerian fraudster.

Mr Abbas was arrested in Dubai last June and he pleaded guilty to fraud in the U.S. this week. The FBI said Messrs Abbas and Kyari have been friends and were both involved in a conspiracy to launder money. 

Mr Kyari was also indicted for receiving bribes from Mr Abbas to arrest a member of the syndicate in Nigeria. 

American prosecutors first sought a court warrant to arrest Mr Kyari on February 12, 2021, according to court documents seen by The Gazette. Another warrant was requested on April 29, 2021.

Judge Wright’s permission for the FBI to arrest Mr Kyari and hold him in U.S. custody was unsealed on July 26. 

Mr Kyari in a hurried statement denied allegations of conspiracy with Hushpuppi, saying he only met him two years ago and did not benefit financially from the fraudster.

It was not immediately clear whether or not an extradition request has been filed for Mr Kyari. Attorney-General Abubakar Malami did not immediately return a request seeking comments from The Gazette.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

fertiliser

States

Plateau farmers seek transparency in subsidised fertiliser distribution

Farmers in Pankshin Local Government Area, Plateau, have called for greater transparency in registering, selecting, and distributing subsidised fertilisers.

Tasia Fortune

World

Police arrest suspect in death of Black woman Tasia Fortune found hanged from tree

Police said the investigation might lead to more arrests, noting that 15 individuals had been questioned about the homicide.

Islamic cleric

NationWide

2027 Elections: Islamic cleric cautions against religious campaigns

“It’s bad for us to use religion for campaigns because, if we are to use religion, we are becoming lawless according to the law,” he said.

Jehu Nnaji

States

2027: Jehu Nnaji emerges Enugu NNPP governorship candidate 

Mr Nnaji emerged as the sole candidate at the party’s direct primary election held on Saturday.

illegal mining

Africa

South African police arrest three suspects over alleged illegal mining

Police said the suspects, comprising two Mozambicans and one South African, were arrested at the scene.

Abubakar Atiku, Bola Tinubu, Peter Obi

Heading 1

Tinubu, Atiku, Obi, 15 others make INEC’s final presidential candidates’ list

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has published the final list of presidential candidates and their running mates.