Saraki Accuses Kwara Government of Political Persecution as 18 Offa Robbery Charges Are Dropped

Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has accused the Kwara State Government of abusing the judicial process after prosecutors dropped 18 of the 20 charges filed against him and former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed over the 2018 Offa bank robbery.

Saraki, through his media office, described the decision to withdraw most of the charges as evidence that the allegations against the two former governors lacked a credible basis. He also expressed confidence that the two remaining charges would not survive judicial scrutiny.

In a statement issued in Abuja and signed by Yusuph Olaniyonu of the Abubakar Bukola Saraki Media Office, the former Senate President said the withdrawn counts included allegations of armed robbery, the killing of police officers and illegal possession of firearms.

The two remaining charges reportedly accuse Saraki and Ahmed of conspiring to belong to a gang of thieves and being members of the alleged gang. They also face allegations relating to concealing or causing the disappearance of a vehicle said to have been used for illegal activities.

The original 20-count charge, filed in April 2026, accused the former governors and two former aides, Yusuf Abdulwahab and Alabi Olalekan, of involvement in the April 5, 2018, robbery attacks on several banks in Offa, Kwara State. The banks named in the charges included Guarantee Trust Bank, First Bank, Ecobank, Union Bank and Zenith Bank.

Reacting to the amended charges, Saraki’s media office accused Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s administration of using the case to damage the reputations of its political predecessors ahead of the 2027 general elections. It also alleged that the state government had spent nearly N100m on newspaper advertisements promoting its claims against the former governors, describing the expenditure as a waste of public resources.

The statement further linked the prosecution to Saraki’s recent political activities in Kwara South, where he had been visiting communities to campaign for Peoples Democratic Party candidates. His media office maintained that the case was politically motivated and said his lawyers would challenge the remaining charges in court.

The Offa robbery case has remained politically contentious since the attack, which prompted police questioning of Saraki after some arrested suspects allegedly implicated him. He denied involvement and later cited two legal opinions issued by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation in June and August 2018, which his camp said found no evidence linking him to the incident. Saraki’s media office insists that the amended prosecution will ultimately fail, but the remaining allegations are still subject to determination by the court.