Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has accused the Kwara State Government of abusing the judicial process following its withdrawal of 18 armed robbery-related charges against him and former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed over the 2018 Offa bank robbery.
Saraki, through his media office, described the withdrawal as an admission that the allegations against the former governors lacked credible evidence, insisting that the two remaining charges would also fail in court.
In a statement signed by Yusuph Olaniyonu of the Abubakar Bukola Saraki Media Office and shared with PUNCH Online on Monday, Saraki said the state government had dropped 18 of the 20 counts in the original charge sheet, including allegations of armed robbery, culpable homicide and illegal possession of firearms.
The two remaining charges reportedly accuse Saraki and Ahmed of conspiring to belong to a gang of thieves and actually belonging to such a gang, alongside allegations relating to concealing or causing the disappearance of a vehicle allegedly used for illegal activities.
The media office said the original charges included allegations that Saraki, Ahmed and others conspired to rob branches of Guarantee Trust Bank, First Bank, Ecobank and Union Bank in Offa, Kwara State, on April 5, 2018. Another count alleged that they robbed a Zenith Bank branch while armed with guns and explosives.
Reacting to the withdrawal, Saraki’s media office said the government dropped the charges because they lacked credible or factual basis.
It accused the administration of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of abusing its prosecutorial powers and turning the justice system into a political tool.
The statement also alleged that the case was part of an attempt to damage the reputations of the former governors ahead of the 2027 general elections.
It further claimed that the state government had spent close to N100 million advertising allegations against the former governors in national newspapers, describing the expenditure as a waste of public funds.
The media office linked the amendment of the charges to Saraki’s recent political activities, noting that it came while he was visiting Offa and other communities in Kwara South to campaign for Peoples Democratic Party candidates.
It maintained that Saraki’s legal team would challenge the remaining charges in court, expressing confidence that they would not withstand judicial scrutiny.
The 2018 Offa robbery case resurfaced in April 2026 when the Kwara State Government filed a fresh 20-count charge against Saraki, Ahmed and two former aides, Yusuf Abdulwahab and Alabi Olalekan. The charges included criminal conspiracy, armed robbery and culpable homicide.
Saraki had consistently denied any involvement in the robbery, maintaining that legal opinions issued by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation in June and August 2018 found no evidence linking him to the incident.
PUNCH
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