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By Faheem Lawal
Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has accused the Kwara State Government of using the 2018 Offa bank robbery case to persecute him and his successor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, insisting that the withdrawal of 18 criminal charges against them vindicates their position that the allegations were politically motivated.
Saraki, through his media office, said the decision by Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s administration to withdraw the armed robbery-related charges after months of legal proceedings exposed what he described as a calculated attempt to tarnish the reputations of the two former governors ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a statement signed by Yusuph Olaniyonu, the Abubakar Bukola Saraki Media Office accused the state government of abusing the judicial process, wasting public funds and pursuing a political vendetta under the guise of criminal prosecution.
The reaction followed the amendment of the original 20-count charge against Saraki, Ahmed and two others, with the prosecution withdrawing 18 counts relating to the Offa robbery and retaining two counts while introducing two additional charges.
The media office described the development as a vindication of its longstanding position that the allegations against the former governors were baseless and intended to undermine their political standing.
“Last weekend, the state government that has set its legal team to be shuttling between the State High Court and the Court of Appeal seeking without success since April 2026 to arraign the two predecessors of Mr Abdulrazaq on charges of armed robbery suddenly made a U-turn and dropped all 18 charges relating to armed robbery on the Offa case,” the statement said.
It noted that the withdrawn charges included allegations of armed robbery, causing the deaths of police officers and illegal possession of firearms, which the government had previously sought to prosecute.
According to the media office, the original charge sheet accused Saraki, Ahmed and others of conspiring to carry out armed robberies at branches of Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank, Ecobank and Union Bank in Offa on April 5, 2018.
It also cited another withdrawn count alleging that the defendants, while armed with guns and explosives, robbed the staff and premises of Zenith Bank in Offa.
The media office argued that the government’s decision to abandon the allegations demonstrated its inability to sustain them in court.
“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.
“For fear of failure, the government has chosen to change gear and explore yet other baseless charges,” it said.
It also faulted the remaining allegations, which accuse the former governors and two other defendants of conspiracy to belong to a gang of thieves, membership of such a gang and involvement in concealing or causing the disappearance of a vehicle allegedly used for unlawful purposes.
“Without commenting on a case that has been filed in court, we consider the amendment of the charges ridiculous, mischievous, ill-intentioned, and a further attempt to abuse the judicial process.
“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 further alleged that the Abdulrazaq administration had spent close to N100 million advertising the original allegations against the two former governors on the front pages of national newspapers earlier in the year.
It described the expenditure as a waste of public resources, arguing that the money could have been channelled into developmental projects.
“It should be noted that the Kwara State government is eating its vomit and withdrawing charges relating to armed robbery against Saraki and Ahmed after it has wasted close to N100 million on advertising its reckless claims against the two men on the front pages of national newspapers earlier in the year.
“That is money that could have been used to execute useful public projects which have now been flushed down the drain on claims that the government knew were false, baseless, and needless from the beginning,” the statement said.
The media office also accused Governor Abdulrazaq of exploiting the case to undermine his predecessors politically, alleging that the prosecution was timed to coincide with preparations for the 2027 general elections.
“In the calculations of Mr Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, keeping the Offa robbery case in court is his own unique way of painting his two predecessors black and indirectly waging a dark campaign against them for the coming elections,” it alleged.
It further claimed that individuals linked to the administration had encouraged some relatives of the robbery victims to institute civil proceedings against the former governors before the state government initiated the latest criminal prosecution.
“The decision to suddenly file charges against the two former governors in an election year is not just an afterthought, but simply a dark campaign,” the statement added.
Despite the amended charges, the media office said Saraki’s legal team was prepared to challenge the new allegations and resist what it described as attempts to misuse prosecutorial powers against him.
“While the lawyers to our principal are ever ready to defend the rights of their client and ensure that the judicial process is not abused against him, we will like to assure members of the public that even these newly filed charges will be contested and at the end of the day the public will see that all attempts to demonise, persecute, and blackmail Dr Saraki will fail,” it said.
It disclosed that the amendment came while Saraki was in Offa, where he had been visiting communities across Kwara South to campaign for Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
According to the statement, the reception accorded the former Senate President during his political engagements showed that the allegations surrounding the robbery had not diminished his popularity in the area.
“The rousing welcome and warm reception accorded Dr Saraki across Offa town and the entire Kwara South senatorial district show that the people never believed the campaign of calumny waged against him over the Offa robbery incident,” it said.
The media office also claimed that some former supporters of Governor Abdulrazaq had publicly acknowledged that allegations surrounding the robbery were deployed as a political weapon against Saraki during the 2019 elections.
It maintained that the former Senate President remained undeterred by the ongoing legal proceedings and expressed confidence that the amended charges would eventually collapse.
“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,” the statement said.
The amended charge sheet, marked KWS/114C/2026, was filed through a motion dated November 6, 2026.
The criminal proceedings, which commenced in April, have yet to proceed to trial due to preliminary legal disputes, including matters before the Court of Appeal, which adjourned the case to November 12.
