According to a report by The PUNCH,
the United States Attorney’s Office at
the Central District of California says
that Ramon Abbas, aka, Hushpuppi,
will be sentenced in October 2021.
The court’s Director of Media
Relations, Thom Mrozek, disclosed
this to one of our correspondents in
an emailed enquiry on Friday.
Hushpuppi has recently pleaded guilty
to various offences bordering on
internet scam and money laundering,
among others.
The court also confirmed that it
ordered the FBI to arrest Deputy
Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari,
for his alleged role in a $1m scam
allegedly perpetrated by Hushpuppi
and five others.
“A U.S. Magistrate Judge has issued
arrest warrants for the defendants in
the case, including Mr Kyari. This is
standard operating procedure in
nearly all of the criminal cases filed
by this office.
“Hushpuppi is currently scheduled to
be sentenced in late October,” Mrozek
stated.
The court official, however, did not
disclose whether Kyari must be in
court with Hushpuppi by late October.
In a plea agreement document sighted
by The PUNCH, Hushpuppi has since
pleaded guilty to money laundering
and internet fraud-related charges
The document was signed by
Hushpuppi; his lawyer, Loius Shapiro;
and Acting United States Attorney,
Tracy Wilkison, among others.
Meanwhile, the Coalition of Public
Interests Lawyers and Advocate has
said that Kyari’s indictment is an
embarrassment to Nigeria, the
Muhammadu Buhari-led regime and
the Nigeria Police Force.
The coalition, while claiming that
Kyari is no longer fit to remain the
head of the Police unit, faulted the
decision by the NPF to investigative
him, asking that the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, in
collaboration with the Federal Bureau
of Investigation as well as the Police
Service Commission, should take over
the investigation.
The COPA said this in a statement
issued on Friday by its National
Coordinator, Pelumi Olajengbesi, and
titled, ‘The Indictment of DCP Abba
Kyari by the US Federal Bureau of
Investigation Over Allegations of
Fraud and Abuse of Police Powers.’
The group said, “Therefore, that the
continuous retention of Mr. Abba
Kyari as the head of Inspector General
of Police’ Intelligence Response Team
of the Nigeria Police Force is no
longer tenable, pending the
conclusion of an independent
investigation into the extent of his
guilt, complicity or the lack thereof in
the damning revelations made against
his person and office by self-confessed
internet fraudster, Ramon Abbas, aka,
Hushpuppi.”