FACT CHECK: Did DCP Abba Kyari threaten to expose Lai, Femi Adesina if arrested by FBI?

Within the last 72 hours, tons of publications have emerged on the bribery allegation levelled against Abba Kyari, a deputy commissioner of police (DCP).

According to US court documents, Kyari was said to have received bribes from Hushpuppi, the embattled Nigerian socialite whose real name is Ramon Abbas.

Hushpuppi alleged that he bribed Kyari to arrest Vincent, his ally, after a dispute over a $1.1 million scam on Qatari businesspeople.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) secured a court order to arrest Kyari following his indictment in the confessional statements made by Hushpuppi.

However, a claim that Kyari threatened to expose Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, and Femi Adesina, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, has begun to make waves across social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter.

Biafra TV, in a Facebook posts which has gathered over 400 shares, 183 comments and over 660 likes, alleged that Kyari threatened to expose Mohammed and Adesina if arrested by FBI. The page has over 13,000 followers.

“If Nigeria government allow FBI to arrest me, I will expose Lai Muhammad and Femi Adesina says Aba Kyari. The game is changing gradually,” the post read.

“E Don red oo, Nigeria vs police. Very soon Nigeria politicians will come and be answering queries at FBI. Abby Kyari is about to lik (sic) the secrets with the torture his going to receive over there.”

On Twitter, @IpobPikin shared the same post which has gathered over 150 reactions.

A similar post was shared on Yoruba Nation, a public Facebook group with over 1,200 members.

“If Nigeria government allow FBI to arrest me, I will expose Lai Muhammad and Femi Adesina says Aba Kyari. The game is changing gradually,” the post read.

Victor Nnamdi, another Facebook user, went further to claim that Kyari alleged that the officials will be exposed because they are evil.

“I will expose this government right from the head to lowest because Nigeria is not a country even though we all playing the games for profits and gains. I will go down but many heads will rolls as long as I’m concern,” Nnamdi wrote.

HOW TRUE IS THIS CLAIM?

Checks by TheCable revealed that the claim is false as the DCP made no such remarks.

The claim was not accredited to any source, platform or time that Kyari made such statement.

So far, Kyari has reacted to the allegations against him only once on both Facebook and Instagram.

In a statement released, on Thursday, to clarify the allegations, the DCP made no mention of Mohammed or Adesina.

Kyari did not also threaten any person or institution while reacting to the allegations.

VERDICT: The claim that Kyari threatened to expose Lai and Adesina is false.