Offa Bank Robbery: Group commends police, accuses O.D.U. chairman of compromise

Barely a day after the Offa Descendants Union (O.D.U.) in Offa Local Government of Kwara State expressed dissatisfaction with the police investigation and the subsequent prosecution of five culprits implicated in the infamous Offa bank robbery in 2018, in which 33 people, including nine policemen and pregnant women, were killed, a group called Offa Ko’ya-Offa Ko’wosi has dissociated itself from the position of O.D.U., describing it as a personal expression of the chairman, Chief Tajudeen ‘Lanre Shittu.

It would be recalled that the court, earlier this week, sentenced the five culprits to death by hanging.

“The leaders of thought and the people of Offa Local Government Area (LGA) have dissociated themselves from the recent press conference addressed by the Chairman of the Home branch of ODU, which purportedly represented the views of the Offa community on the judgment of the Kwara State High Court regarding the Offa robbery case.

“The leaders of thought and indigenes under the aegis of the Offa Koya – Offa Kowosi Group stated that the views expressed at the press conference were simply those of the ODU home branch chairman, Chief Tajudeen Lanre Shittu, and do not in any way represent the position of the community,” the group said in a press statement.

The group also accused Shittu of scheming to use the community platform for personal political gains by doing the bidding of some political masters.

Chairman of Offa Koya – Offa Kowosi, Kunle Afolayan, yesterday, while reacting to the ODU Chairman’s call for further investigation into the Offa robbery case, described the trial and judgment of the State High Court in Ilorin, which sentenced the convicted suspects to death, as justice duly served.

He frowned at any attempt to undermine the efforts made by the police during the investigation as well as in achieving justice for the victims.

“We categorically state that neither the Offa people nor their leaders were aware of nor endorsed the press conference called by the ODU chairman, Chief Tajudeen Lanre Shittu.

“It is a Machiavellian manoeuvre orchestrated by some powers in the state in a bid to implicate or maliciously smear the reputation of certain key figures.

“Shittu swallowed the bait after being promised a political appointment and the House of Representatives ticket in the 2027 elections as a quid pro quo for his services.

“We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the actions of Chief Tajudeen Lanre Shittu, the ODU chairman, who has compromised his position, integrity, and the collective heritage of the Offa community for cheap political gains. His willingness to denigrate the community for personal aggrandisement is reprehensible.

“In contrast, the Offa community wholeheartedly applauds the police and the judiciary for their diligence and commitment to justice, which has brought the perpetrators of the heinous Offa robbery incident to book.

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“The police conducted a thorough and transparent investigation, which was reviewed by the Office of the DPP, while the judgment has brought closure to the affected families and restored peace to our community.

“While we are conscious of the rights of the accused to appeal the judgment, we must say that our people have waited this long for justice to be done and be manifestly seen to be done.

“We noted that it is the struggle to politicise both the investigation and the proceedings in the court that has delayed justice. It is the same old recourse to dirty politics that Shittu is engaging in now. Any attempt to condemn the police investigation that led us to this point is an indirect condemnation and rejection of the judgement that has resulted from it.

“We condemn any attempt to use the case to divert attention from the bad governance in the state and the recent poorly conducted LGA polls in the state. The people cannot be deceived. They know what is right and all the wrongs happening in the state,” the group stated.

The Offa Koya – Offa Kowosi group asked Shittu to resign his position as ODU Chairman so as to enable him to freely pursue his political interests as a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), rather than causing unnecessary uproar and creating fresh trauma for the families of the robbery victims.