Police say they still have enough evidence to prosecute Saraki for Offa bank robbery despite death of main suspect

POLICE prosecutors have revealed that they can still charge senate president Senator Bukola Saraki with offences related to the Offa bank robbery despite the death of the primary suspect  Michael Adikwu because they have signed confessions implicating him.

Earlier this week, the police revealed that Adikwu, the primary suspect in the brutal Offa bank robbery that took place on April 5 leading to the death of 33 people, had died in their custody. Testifying in court on Wednesday,  Kamaldeen Ajibade, the Kwara State attorney-general, said that the head of investigation team, Abba Kyari, had informed him that Mr Adikwu, a dismissed constable, was dead.

According to the Nigeria Police Force, the death of Mr Adikwu should not affect the case as there are five other suspects still in custody and they have all provided written confessions. Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibukunle Ogunleye, Adeola Abraham, Salawudeen Azeez and Niyi Ogundiran, were all arraigned in court on Wednesday.

Police spokesman Moshood Jimoh, explained that Mr Adikwu, 30, was not murdered in custody but slumped and died in detention. He also dismissed a statement by the special adviser to the senate president, Yusuf Olaniyonu, that the case against Senator Saraki was politically motivated.

Mr Jimoh said: “It is important for the public to know that Adikwu was not among the five gang leaders that indicted and implicated the senate president, therefore, his death cannot vindicate Senator Bukola Saraki. Also, there is a post-mortem examination result in respect of the death of Adikwu.

“Evidence from the five suspects now in court is enough to prosecute the senate president, Senator Bukola Saraki.”  He insisted that investigations had revealed that the men who carried out the Offa robbery were Senator Saraki’s political thugs, adding that the accused admitted that they attended the senate president daughter’s wedding in Abuja.