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Senate President Bukola Saraki yesterday denied any links with the
criminal elements, who robbed banks in Offa and killed 33 people.
He however said he would visit the police after receiving a formal
invitation.
Saraki’s position is contained in a statement last night by his spokesman
Yusuph Olaniyonu, who described his invitation as “part of the plan to
abuse of the criminal investigation process aimed at intimidating and
over-overawing the legislature, thereby obstructing it from doing its
work”.
The statement said: “Dr. Saraki will want the entire public to disregard
this claim as a baseless allegation and another ploy by the Police to
implicate him by all means.
“Let it be known that there is no way I could have been associated with
armed robbery against my people. When the Offa robbery incident happened,
I was the first top public official to pay a visit to the place and right
there in the palace of the traditional ruler, I put a call through to this
same Mr. Ibrahim Idris, the IGP, requesting him to make certain specific
security arrangements as demanded by the people.
“Members of the public will remember that on May 16, 2018, I alerted the
Senate about the information passed on to me by my State Governor, Dr.
Abdulfatai Ahmed, over a plot by the Inspector General of Police, Mr.
Ibrahim Idris, to frame me up by getting some suspected cultists arrested
in Ilorin to implicate me. It is believed that the timely leakage of the
plot in that case aborted the use of the suspected cultists to implicate
me. Now, it is the Offa bank robbery suspects that are about to be used.
“This plot is concocted to embarrass me and, in the mind of the IGP, it is
his own response after his refusal to honour the invitation by the
National Assembly, headed by me, for him to come and offer explanations on
the rampant killings and violence across the country.
“Like the earlier one, this frame-up will also fail as I hereby state
categorically that I have no link with any band of criminals.
“As a person who has utmost respect for the rule of law and all
constitutional institutions, when the invitation from the Police is
formally extended to me, I will be ready to honour it without any delay.
“It is however sad that this abuse of the criminal investigation process
aimed at intimidating and over-overawing the legislature, thereby
obstructing it from doing its work, is a big threat to our democracy “.