Police Asked Me To Implicate Saraki -Offa Robbery Suspect Reveals

Ayoade Akinnibosun, a suspect in the robbery attacks on commercial banks in Offa in 2018, has told an Ilorin High Court that the police asked him to implicate the Senate President, Bukola Saraki.

Saraki was in July, 2018, quizzed in his office by investigators from the office of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) over his alleged involvement in the deadly bank robberies in the town located in Kwara state, where Saraki served as governor from 2003 to 2011.

Thirty-three people were killed in the attacks.

We understand that Akinnibosun and two other suspects, Ibikunle Ogunleye (2nd accused person) and Adeola Abraham (3rd accused person) narrated before the court on Friday, March 15, how police forcefully extracted statements from them during investigation.

The suspects also disclosed that the principal suspect in the robbery incident, who was a dismissed police officer, Michael Adikwu, was shot dead by one Inspector Vincent attached to the police Intelligence Response Team (IRT).

Akinnibosun, Ogunleye and Abraham were examined and cross-examined by their counsel, Mathias Emeribe, and prosecution counsel, Razaq Gold, in a trial within trial on how they were tortured and threatened by the police to make confessional statements.

The prosecution witness, Inspector Hitila Hassan, had on Thursday told the court that the suspects voluntarily gave their statements under his supervision.

Lead Prosecuting Counsel, Prof. Wahab Egbewole sought to tender the statements as exhibit but the defence counsel, Mathias Emeribe objected.

According to Emeribe, the statements were not voluntarily taken, as he said that they fell short of the provisions of the Evidence Act particularly sections 28 and 29.

Akinnibosun, speaking at the resumed hearing on Friday, revealed that “Abba Kyari told me to mention the name of Senate President Bukola Saraki that he gave me the guns for the operations. But I declined to do that contending that my life is at stake.

“He (Abba Kyari) promised that they would reward me handsomely and set me free if I can indict Senator Saraki. When I disagreed they called some policemen to take me back to their cell. During this time, my hands were tied to my legs in the back.”

The suspect added that he was the leader of Kwara South Liberation Movement mobilizing young jobless graduates for the Senator representing Kwara South district in the upper legislative chamber, Rafiu Ibrahim.

“The essence is to secure government jobs for the boys,” he said.

The trial Judge, Justice Halimat Salman, adjourned the case to March 25, 2019 for continuation.