Saraki denies involvement in Offa robbery, calls fresh charges against political blackmail

By AbdulHakeem Salami

Former Senate President and ex-Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has flatly denied any involvement in the 2018 Offa armed robbery incident, describing fresh criminal charges initiated against him by incumbent Kwara State Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq as a politically motivated witch-hunt designed to damage his reputation and distract from the governor’s failing security record.

Saraki made the denial in a detailed statement published on his verified X account on Friday, describing the move as “dirty politics taken too far and too low” and vowing that his legal team would contest the charges in court.

“I have nothing to do directly or indirectly with any case of armed robbery or any criminal matter, whatsoever,” he stated.

At the heart of Saraki’s defence are two separate legal advice documents issued by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) in the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, dated June 22 and August 23, 2018, both of which found no evidence linking him to the robbery.

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In the first advice, the DPP stated that it was unable to establish “a nexus between the alleged offence and the suspects,” while the second advice went further, stating that the office remained “unable to establish any prima facie case against him for any offences of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery and culpable homicide.”

Four other suspects were subsequently charged by the Kwara State Government, convicted at the trial court, and the conviction upheld at the appellate level. The matter is currently before the Supreme Court.

Saraki traced the governor’s sudden revival of the case to a recent interview he granted Channels Television, in which he publicly criticised Abdulrazaq’s handling of the security crisis in Kwara State. He alleged that the governor, stung by the criticism, moved swiftly to initiate retaliatory legal action against him and at least one other predecessor.

He further accused the governor of circulating the charges as paid advertisements in national newspapers even before formally serving the defendants, while deliberately concealing the exculpatory DPP reports from public view, a move he described as a calculated attempt to manipulate media coverage.

“These are deliberate efforts to mislead the media and induce them to give purchased publicity to the frame-up,” Saraki said.

Saraki used the occasion to draw attention to what he described as the governor’s catastrophic security record, disclosing that Kwara State has lost over 400 lives to banditry between January 2025 and March 2026, with more than 100 residents kidnapped within the same period figures he said represent the worst security crisis in the state’s history.

“One would have thought that a governor whose state has lost over 400 lives to banditry…would concentrate efforts and focus attention on taming the menace,” he said, accusing Abdulrazaq of prioritising political vendetta over the safety of Kwara residents.

Saraki Confident of Victory in Court

Dismissing the charges as the action of “a desperate politician who is losing control in his party,” Saraki expressed full confidence that the judiciary would see through what he called a charade.

“My legal team will definitely meet this governor in court. I believe this case against me will collapse like a pack of cards,” he said, reaffirming his confidence in the capacity of Nigeria’s courts to deliver impartial justice.

As of the time of this report, the office of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq had not issued any public response.