Offa Robbery: Police cancel Saraki’s invitation, demand written response

Senate President Bukola Saraki needs not appear at any police formation following his invitation by the Force Headquarters over an alleged link between him and suspected armed robbers who took part in the Offa robbery operations in April.

Saraki earlier on Monday said he was ready to honour the invitation as soon as his aide de camp gets one from the Nigerian police.

He, however, said later that the Nigerian police have now demanded a written response instead of a physical appearance.

“Following my earlier tweet, I have received the letter from @PoliceNG,” Saraki tweeted. “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”.

The change of heart by the police came after Vice President Yemi Osinbajo reportedly held a closed-door meeting the inspector-general of police Ibrahim Idris, Saraki and the head of State Security Service, Lawal Daura, at the State House Monday afternoon.

The police said on Sunday that Saraki was indicted by five leaders of the robbery gang in their confessions.

“Senate President Bukola Saraki has been invited to report to the police to answer allegations indicting him from confessions of five gang leaders arrested for active participation in Offa bank robbery and killing of 33 innocent persons,” police spokesman Jimoh Moshood said in a statement.

But Saraki insisted he had nothing to do with the crime which claimed the lives of 33 persons. He said he was a victim of Inspector-General of Police’s plan to frame him up.

“In a statement by his spokesman, Yusuf Olaniyonu, he said: “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. Abdulfatah 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 time, in that case, 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.”