Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has accused the Kwara State Government of abusing the judicial process over the 2018 Offa bank robbery case.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

reports that Saraki made the allegation in a statement issued on Monday by his media aide, Yusuph Olaniyonu, following the state government’s decision to amend the charges against him and former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed.

According to the statement, the government dropped 18 armed robbery-related charges previously filed against the two former governors, prompting Saraki to describe the development as an indication that the allegations against them lacked credible evidence.

He, however, expressed confidence that the remaining charges would also collapse during court proceedings.

Saraki’s media office disclosed that the state government had withdrawn 18 of the 20 counts contained in the original charge sheet, including allegations of armed robbery, the killing of police officers and illegal possession of firearms.

The two remaining charges reportedly accuse Saraki and Ahmed of conspiring to belong to a gang of thieves and being members of the alleged criminal group. They also include allegations relating to concealing or causing the disappearance of a vehicle allegedly used for unlawful activities.

The statement further recalled that the state government had previously attempted to arraign the former governors on the original charges before subsequently amending the case.

Reacting to the development, Saraki’s media office said the withdrawal of the allegations demonstrated the weakness of the government’s case.

It stated, “Both charges and 16 others with such ridiculous claims were dropped obviously because the government saw through the futility of the attempts to rope in Saraki and Ahmed and the fact that the charges lack any credible or factual basis.”

The statement further accused the state government of abusing its prosecutorial powers and turning the judicial process into what it described as a political tool.

“The amendment to the charge sheet only reveals that there was no case against these gentlemen from the beginning and what the state government is indulging in is abuse of powers, a travesty of the justice system, and mockery of the prosecutorial powers of the state,” it added.

Saraki’s media office also alleged that Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s administration was using the Offa robbery case to damage the reputations of his predecessors ahead of the 2027 general elections.

It further claimed that the state government had spent nearly ₦100 million on newspaper advertisements promoting its allegations against the former governors earlier in the year.

The media office described the alleged expenditure as a waste of public resources, arguing that the funds could have been channelled into developmental projects across the state.

Meanwhile, Saraki’s camp maintained that his lawyers would challenge the remaining charges in court, expressing confidence that the case would not withstand judicial scrutiny.

It said, “We want to further reiterate our assurances to members of the public, particularly supporters of Dr Saraki, that he remains unperturbed by the machinations of the Kwara State Government and that just as the earlier charge sheet collapsed like a badly arranged pack of cards, the amended charge will also fail in court because they are claims that cannot withstand the slightest judicial scrutiny.”