Offa robberies: Police invitation, plot to prevent me from dumping APC – Saraki

President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, has described the invitation to him by the Nigeria Police to report to a station in Guzape over their investigation of the armed robbery in Offa, Kwara State, as “a mere afterthought which is designed to achieve political purpose.”

Saraki, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, said he had it on good authority that the police had already decided on the suspects to arraign in court in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Wednesday based on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecution, U. E. Mohammed.

He said the turn around by the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to invite him was a ploy aimed at scoring cheap political points. He added that the alleged plot to keep him and his associates in the All Progressives Congress with the case had failed.

Saraki said, “I have been reliably informed that the police invitation was planned by IG as a ploy to stop an alleged plan by some senators and House of Representatives members from defecting from the All Progressives Congress. It was also said that if I was detained between Tuesday and Wednesday, that will abort the so-called defection plan.

“While I continue to maintain that the issue of my position on the 2019 elections is not a personal decision for me alone to make, it should be noted that all these concoctions and evil plot cannot deter me. Those behind this fresh assault will fail as I have nothing to do with the robbery incident or any criminal matter for that matter.

“I am aware that following a request made by the police on June 13, 2018, the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation had written a legal advice dated June 22, 2018, in which he stated on Page 5, Paragraph ‘F’ that, ‘For the Senate President and the Kwara State Governor, this office is unable to establish from the evidence in the interim report a nexus between the alleged office and the suspects.’

“The police have obviously corrupted and politicised their investigations into the Offa robbery incident. They have turned it into an instrument for the party in power to suppress perceived opponents, witch-hunt issue for blackmailing people from freely choosing which platform on which they want to pursue their ambition, and a matter for harassing the people whose exit from APC would harm the chances of the party in the forthcoming elections.”

The Senate President restated that he had no hand in either the robbery incident or any criminal activity. He said the police “in their haste to embarrass me sent the invitation to me at 8pm and requested that I report to the station by 8am tomorrow morning.”

He said, “This obviously demonstrated their desperation as I do not see why they are now in a hurry.”