In 2018, two different legal advice from the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (OAGF) said the office was unable to establish any evidence linking Bukola Saraki, a former senate president, to the tragic Offa robbery incident.
The legal advice, issued June 22, 2018 and August 23, 2018,
was signed by Mohammed U.E., director of public prosecutions of the federation,
on behalf of the AGF.
Abubakar Malami was the AGF and minister of justice at the
time the legal advice was issued.
WHAT HAPPENED IN OFFA?
On April 5, 2018, multiple banks were raided, and a police
station was attacked in Offa, a town in Kwara state, resulting in 33
fatalities, including a pregnant woman and 12 police officers.
After the incident, the police arrested six suspects in
connection with the armed robbery.
Michael Adikwu, suspected mastermind of the robbery attack
and dismissed police officer, died in custody.
Some days after the robbery incident, the police invited
Saraki and alleged that Ayoade Akinnibosun, the gang leader, claimed that the
gang members were political thugs to Saraki.
The police also alleged that Akinnibosun claimed that he got
vehicles and monetary gifts from Saraki through Yusuf Abdulwahab, a former
chief of staff to Abdulfatah Ahmed, ex-Kwara governor.
Speaking during the parade of suspects, Akinnibosun told
journalists that his group had been working for Saraki since he was a governor.
The gang leader also told journalists that Saraki was not
aware of their involvement in the armed robbery attack.
During a court hearing in March 2019, Akinnibosun alleged
that Abba Kyari, then deputy commissioner of police, asked him and the other
accused to implicate Saraki and that he was threatened to make confessional
statements.
In September 2024, a high court in Kwara found the five
defendants guilty of illegal possession of firearms, armed robbery, and
culpable homicide connected to the Offa incident. They were sentenced to death.
The defendants were Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola
Abraham, Salahudeen Azeez and Niyi Ogundiran.
In January, the court of appeal upheld the conviction and
sentence of the five convicts.
Recently, the Kwara government filed a 20-count charge
against Saraki and Ahmed over allegations of arming the convicts.
Other defendants in the case are Abdulwahab and Alabi
Olalekan, another aide.
Saraki has since denied any form of connection with the
armed robbery suspects. He accused AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, governor of Kwara,
of attempting to embarrass him.
THE LEGAL ADVICE
The OAGF advised that “further and more thorough
investigation” should be carried out to establish whether Saraki and Ahmed
approved or knew about the planning and execution of the Offa robbery attack.
“Whether the weapons used for the robbery attack
aforementioned were supplied by either the Senate President, Bukola Saraki or
the Governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatai Ahmed Maigida,” the OAGF had said.
“And any other area or areas that may assist in establishing
a prima facie case of aiding and abetting crime, or accessory after the fact.”
The OAGF said Olalekan, a former personal assistant to Ahmed
on political matters, should be charged for the “offence of illegal possession
of firearms”.
The OAGF also said there was “no evidence is credible enough
to sustain any charge based on any offence known to law” against Abdulwahab.
In the second legal advice dated August 23, 2018, the OAGF
said there was no departure from the June 2018 legal advice on the alleged
involvement of Saraki in the Offa robbery attack.
The OAGF added that the “office is still unable to establish
any prima facie case against him for any offences of criminal conspiracy, armed
robbery and culpable homicide punishable with death”.
The OAGF again advised that Olalekan should be charged for
“illegal possession of firearms” separately from the main suspects involved in
the Offa robbery attack.
The OAGF also said the investigation report did not disclose
any “collaborative evidence linking” Abdulwahab to the Offa robbery attack.
The police were advised to transfer the case file to the
Kwara attorney-general and commissioner of justice for prosecution.
Saraki governed Kwara between 2003 and 2011. He served as
the senate president from 2015 to 2019.
Ahmed became Kwara governor after Saraki’s tenure in 2011
and served till 2019.
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