The police headquarters have summoned the Senate President Bukola Saraki for questioning about his link to suspects of the Offa bank robbery arrested so far in Kwara.
According to Jimoh Moshood, Force PRO, in a statement on Sunday, Saraki will appear before a police team in Abuja for interrogation over the allegation by the suspects.
“They admitted and confessed to have been sponsored with firearms, money and operational vehicles by the Senate President Bukola Saraki and the Governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah Ahmed,” the statement read in part.
No fewer than five of the 22 suspects arrested in connection to the April 5 attack confessed their allegiance to Saraki.
The five gang leaders who mentioned Saraki are Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibukunle Ogunleye, Adeola Abraham, Salawudeen Azeez, Niyi Ogundiran — and some of the other 17 suspects arrested for direct involvement and active participation in the Offa Bank Robbery.
In the attack 33 innocent persons, including pregnant women and 9 police officers, were killed.
Saraki, before the police invitation, had raised the alarm that IGP Ibrahim Idris was planning to implicate him by ordering suspects of some cultism-related matters to be brought for investigation in Abuja.
The police, however, denied the allegations.
In the latest press statement, the FPRO said millions of Naira from the banks raided, and 21 AK-47 rifles belonging to the Nigeria Police Force in the Armoury of the Police Divisional Headquarters, Offa, were carted away by the the gang leaders and the other 17 principal suspects.
According to him, the five gang leaders further confessed during investigation that they are political thugs under the name Youth Liberation Movement a.k.a “Good Boys”.
Also recovered during the investigation were a Lexus jeep GX-300 (Ash Colour) with a sticker plate number with inscription “SARAKI” “Kwara, State of Harmony” used by the gang leader (Ayoade Akinnibosun ‘M’ 37Yrs) during the bank robbery in April.
“The car was taken to Government House, Ilorin on 16th May, 2018 where the sticker plate number with inscription “SARAKI” “Kwara, State of Harmony” was removed before another plate number (Reg. No. Kwara, KMA 143 RM) registered in the name of Ayoade Akinnibosun, the overall commander of the Offa Bank Robbery, was then attached to the vehicle to cover up the identity of the said vehicle,” Moshood said.
Yusuf Abdulwahab, chief of staff to the state governor, oversaw the manipulation of the evidence.
“The exhibit vehicle was subsequently recovered from the premises of the Min. of Environmental and Forestry in Ilorin, Kwara State.
“The sticker plate number with inscription “SARAKI” “Kwara, State of Harmony” removed from the vehicle was recovered from one Adeola Omiyale who drove the said Lexus Jeep to Government House, Ilorin immediately after the Bank Robbery.”
Alabi Olalekan, the personal assistant to the state governor, who was aware of the investigation, would later direct Omiyale to relocate the Lexus Jeep to Government House, Ilorin.
Olalekan is currently in police custody, having made useful statement assisting the police in further investigation into the case.
Also, the statement stated that a revolver pistol and pump action gun were recovered from Olalekan’s Farm where he directed his brother to hide them after his arrest by the police.