Amid escalating legal tensions between Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and former Senate President Bukola Saraki, Islamic clerics and the Agbaji Development Association (ADA) on Wednesday held a special prayer session, accusing the governor of trying to destabilise Kwara State with alleged frivolous charges.

The ADA is the platform for all indigenes of Agbaji, the ancestral home of the Saraki family home and the diaspora.

Addressing the media yesterday, at the area’s central mosque in Ilorin, they alleged Governor AbdulRazaq of “bold and calculated” moves to stir unrest and disunity within the Ilorin Emirate.

The group’s national president, Alhaji Yunus Abdulkadir Lasiele, however, threatened to lead the members and other Kwarans on protest if further “attack” on Saraki is again heard or unleashed.

According to them: “what is unfolding before the eyes of the public is no longer about justice, it is a calculated political campaign driven by propaganda and deliberate attempts to tarnish the image of Dr. Bukola Saraki and the entire Saraki family.”

They dismissed as untrue and unfathomable that a sitting governor could organise a bank robbery, asking if he, too, as the incumbent governor, can do the same.

They stated that the initiators of the allegations lack intelligence to know that: “Saraki himself is a bank and would not do anything to rob a fellow bank,” they said.

They warned against the alleged indiscriminate use of the media to accuse the former Senate President, saying: “the continuous use of media platforms, state influence, and coordinated voices linked to the AbdulRazaq family and their allies to malign and embarrass the Saraki family is unacceptable, provocative, and dangerous.”

They cautioned that the “Ilorin Emirate is not a theatre for political vendetta. The Saraki family has paid its dues in the history and development of Kwara State, and any attempt to rewrite that history through blackmail and public manipulation will be firmly resisted.”

“Let it be known that the people of Ilorin are watching. Any further attempt to escalate this coordinated smear campaign will be met with strong public resistance.

“We therefore issue a clear warning: those promoting this narrative, especially individuals and elements within the AbdulRazaq political circle, should desist immediately from actions capable of destabilising the peace of the Emirate.

“While we call for restraint, we will not tolerate continued provocation,” they warned

They urged the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, to urgently intervene and call all parties, especially those fueling the discord to order.

“We also urge the media to stop serving as channels for politically motivated attacks and instead promote peace and truth.

“Finally, we call on the Ulama to intensify prayers, as Ilorin Emirate must not be dragged into avoidable conflict.

“Ilorin must remain a land of honour, not a battlefield for political intimidation and propaganda,” they expressed.