Ebun Francis|
Dr. Bukola Saraki, Nigeria’s Senate president on Sunday denied having any relationship with the gang of robbers that pillaged many commercial banks in Offa, a town in Kwara State earlier this year that left many including police officers dead.
The police had earlier in the day, summoned the Senate president following his indictment by some of the suspects who confessed to the crime.
Five leaders of the gang, according to the police, had claimed that they were political thugs of the Senate President and the Governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah Ahmed.
But in a statement released by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) Yusuph Olaniyonu, the Senate President described the allegations as “baseless” and “another ploy by the Police to implicate him by all means”.
Saraki in the statement noted that when the incident happened, he was the first top public official to pay a visit to the place after which he also put a call through to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, to make the necessary security arrangements.
The statement read in part, “Let it be known that there is no way I could have been associated with armed robbery against my people. When the Offa robbery incident happened, I was the first top public official to pay a visit to the place and right there in the palace of the traditional ruler, I put a call through to this same Mr. Ibrahim Idris, the IGP, requesting him to make certain specific security arrangements as demanded by the people.
“Members of the public will remember that on May 16, 2018, I alerted the Senate about the information passed on to me by my State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatai Ahmed, over a plot by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, to frame me up by getting some suspected cultists arrested in Ilorin to implicate me.
“It is believed that the timely leakage of the plot, in that case, aborted the use of the suspected cultists to implicate me. Now, it is the Offa bank robbery suspects that are about to be used”.
The Senate president further said the development was part of plans to embarrass him after the IGP had failed to honour invitations by the National Assembly over the killings across the country.
“This plot is concocted to embarrass me and, in the mind of the IGP, it is his own response after his refusal to honour the invitation by the National Assembly, headed by me, for him to come and offer explanations on the rampant killings and violence across the country.
“Like the earlier one, this frame-up will also fail as I hereby state categorically that I have no link with any band of criminals.
“As a person who has utmost respect for the rule of law and all constitutional institutions, when the invitation from the Police is formally extended to me, I will be ready to honour it without any delay.
“It is however sad that this abuse of the criminal investigation process aimed at intimidating and over-overawing the legislature, thereby obstructing it from doing its work, is a big threat to our democracy,” the Senate President stated.
Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, has also denied any involvement with the gang.