Police diverting attention from Offa robbery case – Saraki

Senate President Bukola Saraki has said that the police was making fruitless efforts to divert attention on the Offa robbery case, but that they must face the truth. Saraki said the police response to his call for inquiry into how the prime suspect in the April 5 robbery attacks in Offa died was a mere diversionary tactic which was aimed at evading the serious issues of human rights abuse, extrajudicial killing and politicisation of criminal investigations.

Following the police revelation that the principal suspect, Michael Adikwu had died, Saraki issued a statement on Wednesday calling for a panel of inquiry on the matter.

But the police responded by saying they had enough evidence to prosecute Saraki, whom they alleged had a hand in the robbery incident.

This came despite a letter to the Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris in August by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mohammed U. E to the effect that there was no evidence to link Saraki with the incident.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, the Senate President said when he mentioned in his statement on Wednesday that he had been vindicated, he was not referring to the outcome of a case which is just about to commence but was pointing to the belated admission by the police that Adikwu had died in custody.

He added that the police in a cover up of their mishandling of the investigations and their politicization of the process, had continued to make inconsistent statements and commit more blunders.

He noted that President Muhammadu Buhari needed to institute inquiry into the death of Adikwu because it has several implications for the country’s legal system and its engagement with the international community.