Offa bank robbery: Saraki reacts as Kwara drops 18 charges, retains 4 counts

Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has accused the Kwara State Government of abusing its prosecutorial powers after it withdrew 18 charges from the case linking him and former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed to the 2018 Offa bank robbery.
Saraki said the decision to drop the allegations of armed robbery, culpable homicide and illegal possession of firearms exposed the weakness of the original case, insisting that the remaining charges would also fail in court.

The Kwara State Government initially filed a 20-count charge against Saraki, Ahmed and two former aides, Yusuf Abdulwahab and Alabi Olalekan, in April 2026. The amended charge sheet, however, reduced the case to four counts.
The remaining allegations accuse the four defendants of conspiring to belong to a gang of thieves, belonging to such a gang, and concealing or causing the disappearance of a vehicle allegedly used for an illegal purpose.

In a statement issued by his media office and signed by Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki said the government had abandoned 18 counts, including allegations that the defendants planned and participated in armed robberies at several banks in Offa.
The original charges alleged that Saraki, Ahmed and others conspired to rob branches of Guarantee Trust Bank, First Bank, Ecobank and Union Bank on April 5, 2018. Another count accused them of robbing a Zenith Bank branch while armed with guns and explosives.
Reacting to the amendment, Saraki's media office said the dropped allegations had no credible foundation.

“Both charges and 16 others with such ridiculous claims were dropped obviously because the government saw through the futility of the attempts to rope in Saraki and Ahmed and the fact that the charges lack any credible or factual basis,” the statement said.
It added that the amendment showed that there had been no case against the former governors from the beginning.

“The amendment to the charge sheet only reveals that there was no case against these gentlemen from the beginning and what the state government is indulging in is abuse of powers, a travesty of the justice system, and mockery of the prosecutorial powers of the state,” it stated.
Saraki's camp also accused Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq's administration of using the case to damage the reputations of his predecessors ahead of the 2027 elections.

It alleged that the state government had spent close to N100m advertising its accusations against the former governors in national newspapers earlier in the year, describing the expenditure as a waste of public funds that could have been channelled into public projects.

The statement further linked the prosecution to Saraki's political activities, noting that the amended charges came while he was visiting Offa and other communities in Kwara South to campaign for Peoples Democratic Party candidates.
The former Senate President maintained that he was not troubled by the government's action and that his lawyers would challenge the remaining allegations.

“We want to further reiterate our assurances to members of the public, particularly supporters of Dr Saraki, that he remains unperturbed by the machinations of the Kwara State Government,” the statement said.
It added that the amended case would collapse because its claims could not withstand judicial scrutiny.

The Offa robbery occurred on April 5, 2018, when armed men attacked banks in the Kwara community, killing at least 32 people, including nine police officers.
Five men convicted over the attacks were sentenced to death, with the Court of Appeal in Ilorin upholding their sentences.

Saraki was invited by the police for questioning after some of the arrested suspects allegedly implicated him. He denied any connection with the robbery and described the allegations as an attempt to implicate him.
The allegations resurfaced in April 2026 when the Kwara State Government filed the 20-count charge against Saraki, Ahmed and their two former aides. The charges included criminal conspiracy, armed robbery and culpable homicide.

Saraki had also cited two legal opinions issued by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation in June and August 2018, which he said found no evidence linking him to the robbery.
The former governor subsequently described the prosecution as politically motivated and accused Abdulrazaq of using the case to embarrass him.

The amended charge does not amount to an acquittal. The four remaining counts are still allegations, and the court is yet to determine the defendants' guilt or innocence.