Former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, has said the deadly Offa robbery incident was designed under the Buhari administration, with the connivance of some individuals from Kwara State, as an instrument of blackmail to seize political power from his group in 2019.

In a statement on Friday, Saraki accused the Governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, of making an insidious move to initiate a case of criminal liability against him concerning the robbery incident which happened eight years ago.

According to him, he would have shrugged off the move and prepared to meet in court to prove his innocence, if not for calls from many well-meaning Nigerians who were surprised by this turn of events.

“Thus, for the benefit of the general public, let me categorically state that I have nothing to do directly or indirectly with any case of armed robbery or any criminal matter whatsoever. The Offa robbery incident was designed under the Buhari administration, with the connivance of some individuals from Kwara State, as an instrument of blackmail to seize political power from our group in 2019,” he said.

Saraki recalled that the case was investigated by the police team from the office of the Inspector General of Police, adding that after two separate legal advices dated June 22, 2018, and August 23, 2018, the Director of Public Prosecution (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.

According to him, the DPP in his first legal advice stated that “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 Senate President stated that in a second report, the DPP stated that “With regards 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”.

He said that, 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.

“Suddenly, the governor woke up after I granted my interview to 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.

“Therefore, I am under no illusion that this case was a frivolous move and an abuse of court process to embarrass my person. My legal team will definitely meet this governor in court. I believe that Abdulrahman just feels that he could still use this case to harass and defame my person by abusing the judicial process. He had tried to induce the families of the victims to initiate civil litigations against the other respondents and me, but he seemed not to be making progress with that mischievous effort because the families backed out,” he said.

Saraki pointed out to the governor that this vicious attack on his reputation, because he enjoys the immunity of a governor, is a huge joke on him. He said a sitting governor who is accusing his two immediate predecessors of armed robbery is only making a mockery of the institution.

“He is only taking the governorship of our dear state to the gutter. This is an example of dirty politics taken too far and too low. He ought to know that nobody at the national or state level is buying his claim. He is the butt of a crude joke. Many of those involved in the plot to blackmail me with the Offa robbery case have since faced the judgments of the law of karma. I do not doubt that this governor will end up the same way,” Saraki said.