The police on Wednesday said they had
not withdrawn their invitation to the President of the Senate, Bukola
Saraki, over his alleged link with suspected robbers, who invaded banks
in Offa on April 5, 2018.....
The Force Public Relations Officer,
Jimoh Moshood, who stated this in Abuja while parading two more suspects
of the robberies, said Saraki must appear in person to defend himself.
Moshood had, on Sunday in Abuja while
parading two more suspects involved in the Offa bank robberies, said
alleged gang leaders levelled allegations against Saraki and the Kwara
State Governor, Abdufatah Ahmed.
He said that Saraki had been asked to
report to the Force Intelligence Response Team Office at Guzape,
Abuja, to answer to the allegations reportedly levelled against him by
five alleged gang leaders.
The Senate President, had, on his
Twitter handle on Monday morning, said he had yet to get any invitation
from the police. He said he had informed his aide-de-camp to get the
invitation from the police.
Later on Monday, Saraki said he had received a letter from the police asking him to respond to the allegations in writing.
He had written, “Following my earlier
tweet, I have received the letter from @PoliceNG. They are no longer
asking me to appear at any station, but to respond in writing to the
allegations within 48 hours, which I plan to do.”
But in an interview with journalists on
Wednesday, the police spokesman denied that the Senate President was
asked to send his written defence.
He insisted that investigators were
still expecting the Senate President to report to the Force Intelligence
Response Team office at Guzape, Abuja, to explain his links to the five
gang leaders involved in the robberies.
Moshood said, “The invitation was never
withdrawn. I read to you (journalists) that the Senate President was
being invited to come and answer to the allegations levelled against him
by the five gang leaders here. We are expecting him in person. As I
said earlier on, the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, has a case
to answer.”
He added that it was only the police
that could issue a statement about the ongoing investigation, noting
that Saraki was being expected for interrogation by the police.
Asked if Saraki had a deadline to show
up for interrogation, the police spokesman said it was up to the
investigators to determine that.
He also stated that the detectives would
determine whether the Senate President should be arrested if he failed
to respond to the police summons.
The police also vowed they would do
everything possible to bring Saraki to justice for his alleged
involvement in the multiple bank robberies in Offa.
The force stated that it had arrested
two additional suspects out of the three persons named by the gang
leader, Ayoade Akinnibosun, a.k.a AY.
Parading the two new suspects, Alhaji
Kehinde Gobiri, a.k.a Captain, and Alhaji Oba Olododo, a.k.a Jakwando
alongside the gang leaders at the force headquarters, Abuja on
Wednesday, the police spokesman explained that the suspects had provided
information about their connections to the embattled senator.
He stated that the suspects were part of
the notorious political thugs in possession of firearms and other
dangerous weapons working for the Senate President in Kwara Central
Senatorial District.
He added that Gobiri and Olododo had
admitted to the various crimes and criminalities they committed in Kwara
Central Senatorial District under the guise of political thuggery for
the Senate President.
Moshood disclosed that the third suspect, Alhaji Dona, was still at large, noting that efforts were ongoing to apprehend him.
He stated, “The Nigeria Police Force
will not be cowed or succumb to intimidation from any quarter in
carrying out a thorough and discreet investigation into the Offa bank
robberies, where significant successes have been recorded.
“The ongoing investigation will be
driven to a logical conclusion. Meanwhile, the Senate President, Sen.
Bukola Saraki is still under investigation in connection with the
robbery and the Nigeria Police Force will do everything possible within
the ambit of the law to ensure that justice is done in this case.”
Moshood stated that investigations
showed that three gang leaders who participated actively in the Offa
bank robberies, Akinnibosun, Ibukunle Ogunleye aka Arrow and Adeola
Abraham followed Saraki to Olofa’s Palace when he paid a condolence
visit to the traditional ruler after the robberies.
He said, “New revelations from further
investigations into the matter show that all the five gang leaders
namely: Akinnibosun, Ogunleye, Abraham, Salawudeen Azeez and Niyi
Ogundiran have direct connection to the Senate President as new pictures
of one of the five gang leaders when paraded by the police earlier in
the week was in ‘Aso Ebi’ (trouser) used during the Senate President
daughter’s wedding.”
“The gang leaders further admitted that they attended the Senate President daughter’s wedding held recently.”
The gang leader, Akinnibosun in an
interview explained that his gang members went with the Senate President
to visit the Olofa’s palace, but not on his invitation, adding that
they heard about the visit through Saraki’s friend, Samshudeen Bada, who
invited them.
He said, “I have a friend; he is a
politician close to the Senate President. His name is Samshudeen Bada.
He was the one that called me and told me that the Senate President was
going to Offa, so I called Kunle Arrow and I called Adex that the Senate
President was going to Offa.”
“I went with my Lexus SUV to pick them
and we went to Offa and on getting there, not quite 10-15 minutes, the
Senate President was done. After he was done with the Olofa, he said he
was going to Ilorin and we followed him. When we got to a village,
Eleyeoka, he stopped to relieve himself. Senator Ibrahim Rafiu (Saraki’s
friend) then gave us N50,000; he gave the money to me,” the suspect
narrated.
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