The Nigeria Police Force has soft-pedalled on its probe of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, over the role he may have played in the Offa bank robbery in Kwara State.
The police had said that Saraki who was implicated by five of the gang leaders that carried out the bank robbery which led to the killing of no fewer than 17 persons including policemen, would face the Force Intelligence Response Team at Guzape, Abuja to answer to the allegations levelled against him.
The announcement of the invitation was made on Sunday by the Force spokesman, Mr. Jimoh Moshood.
But on Monday, it was gathered that shortly after a meeting involving Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the head of State Security Service, Lawal Daura, and the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, the order was changed.
Rather, Saraki was directed to react in writing to the allegation said to have been made against him by the suspects.
He was given 48 hours to do so.
Following the announcement of his alleged indictment by the suspected robbers, Saraki had issued a statement debunking the allegation.
Read also: Offa bank robbery: Plot by IGP to implicate me will fail –Saraki
He described the allegation as a plot designed by the Inspector General of Police to embarrass him.
He however said the plot would fail.
He added that he would honour the invitation by the police whenever it was extended to him.
His statement reads:
The attention of the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has been drawn to a story circulating online and apparently derived from a Press Conference addressed by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Moshood Jimoh, linking him (Saraki) to the Offa robbery.
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 “, the Senate President stated.
