Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has described the criminal charges filed against him by the Kwara State government linking him to the 2018 Offa robbery incident, as a frivolous move and an abuse of court process to embarrass his person.
The Kwara State Government recently filed 20-count charges against Saraki and Abdulfatah Ahmed, another former governor of the state, linking them to the armed robbery incident that occurred on April 5, 2018, at bank premises in Offa.
The 2018 incident led to the destruction of property and the deaths of citizens and some policemen.
The charges were filed at the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin on April 9, 2026.
Other defendants in the case are Yusuf Abdulwahab, a former Chief of Staff to Ahmed, and Alabi Olalekan, another aide.
Count one of the charges reads: “That you OLUBUKOLA ABUBAKAR SARAKI, ABDULFATAH AHMED, YUSUF ABDULWAHAB, ALABI OLALEKAN, AYOADE AKINNIBOSUN (now a convict), IBIKUNLE OGUNLEYE (now a convict), ADEOLA ABRAHAM (now a convict), SALAWU AZEEZ (now a convict), and NIYI OGUNDIRAN (now a convict), on or about the 5th day of April, 2018 at Offa, Kwara State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired among yourselves to do an illegal act, to wit: commit armed robbery at the premises of Guarantee Trust Bank Plc, Offa branch; First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Offa branch; Eco Bank, Offa branch; and Union Bank Plc, Offa branch, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 6(b) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, Cap R11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, and punishable under Section 1(2) of the same Act.”
Reacting to the charges on Friday, Saraki alleged that the new charges connecting him to the Offa robbery incident were designed under the past administration, with the connivance of some individuals from Kwara State, as an instrument of blackmail to seize political power from his group in 2019.
Saraki, citing two separate legal advices dated June 22, 2018, and August 23, 2018, explained that the case was investigated by a police team from the Office of the Inspector General of Police.
The former Senate President revealed that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) stated that there was no evidence directly or indirectly linking him to the robbery incident.
Saraki said that the DPP, in his first legal advice, stated: “For the Senate President and the Kwara State Governor, this office is unable to establish from the evidence in the interim report a nexus between the alleged offence and the suspects.”
The former lawmaker added that, in a second report, the DPP stated: “With regard to the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, since there is no departure from the earlier findings in the interim report, this office is still unable to establish any prima facie case against him for any offences of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, and culpable homicide.”
Saraki said, “Based on the DPP’s advice, four suspects were charged in court by the Kwara State Government. They were convicted at the trial court, and the conviction was upheld by the appellate court. The matter is now before the Supreme Court.”
The former lawmaker also alleged that his recent interview on Channels TV, in which he spoke about rising insecurity in Kwara State, prompted the charges filed by Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.
“Suddenly, the governor woke up after I granted my interview on Channels TV, where I commented on the insecurity in the state, and thought he could resurrect these baseless charges against his two predecessors.
“I noticed that in his propaganda plan to circulate his frivolous charges and other skewed documents as paid advertisements in the national newspapers, even before serving the defendants, he intentionally hid the DPP reports and other documents which put a lie to the charade he is perpetuating. These are deliberate efforts to mislead the media and induce them to give purchased publicity to the frame-up,” he maintained.
