The Nigeria Police have threatened the use of force to compel Senate President to report to the Police and answer to allegations linking him in a confessional statement of suspects to the Offa bank robbery in Kwara State. The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, in a statement on Tuesday by Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, insisted that Senate President Bukola Saraki must honour the invitation of the Police for questioning on Tuesday on the Offa bank robbery or he will be forced to do so.
The Police also denied deployment of personnel to the residence of the Senate President and Deputy Senate President to restrict their movement on Tuesday morning.
“The Nigeria Police Force’s attention was also drawn to the innuendos in the early hours of today that some Police men were seen surrounding the residence of the Senate President; the Force wishes to categorically state that there was no authorised deployment of Police personnel to besiege the residence of the Senate President or his deputy as reported in the media.
“The police personnel seen in pictures in the media were those in the convoy of the Senate President and others attached to him.
“If the Senate President refuses to honor the invitation, police would not hesitate to use all the instruments of the law to ensure compliance with the law,” declared.
The Police had on Monday evening issued statement inviting the Senate President to report to the head of the investigation team at the Intelligence Response Team Office in Asokoro Extension Abuja, at 8 am on Tuesday.
The police indicated that Saraki was needed for “further investigation on his indictment from confessional statements from some of the five gang leaders arrested for their active participation in the Offa bank robbery.”
The Senate President had already written a statement earlier denying having anything to do with the Offa bank robbery, reiterated that he had nothing to do with the robbery, accusing the police of playing politics with their investigation.
Senate President Saraki in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, complained: “The police have obviously corrupted and politicised their investigations into the Offa robbery incident.
“They have turned it into an instrument for the party in power to suppress perceived opponents, witch-hunt issue for blackmailing people from freely choosing which platform on which they want to pursue their ambition and a matter for harassing the people whose exit from APC would harm the chances of the party in the forthcoming elections.”