Saraki responds to police request asking him to comment on his role in Offa bank robbery

SENATE president Senator Bukola Saraki has responded to the request by the inspector-general of police that he provide information on his knowledge about the recent Offa bank robbery by forwarding a written defence of his involvement to police headquarters.

Last weekend, inspector-general of police Ibrahim Idris, asked Senator Saraki to report to police headquarters for questioning after some of the robbers arrested following the gruesome Offa attack said he was their sponsor. Later, the senate president was asked to only send in a report about his knowledge of that happened and clear his name about allegations that he provided the robbers with vehicles and weapons.

In one of the most gruesome armed robberies ever witnessed in Nigeria, a gang of hoodlums ransacked Offa on April 5, attacking several banks and killing 33 people in the process. Since then, the police have swung into action, arresting dozens of the robbers and under interrogation, some of them have confessed that they were originally hired by Senator Saraki.

It appears that the senate president hired them as his political thugs, arming them and using them to curtail opponents but the hoodlums then decided to take things further by graduating to bank robbery. During the attack, nine policemen and a pregnant woman were killed and following their arrest, the robbers have confessed to being behind the carnage.

Senator Saraki said: “In line with their request, earlier today the police received my response to their letter on the investigation into the Offa robbery case." According to one senate source, Senator Saraki involved his lawyers in the drafting of the defence.