Nigeria: Offa Bank Robbery - Saraki Denies Fresh Charges, Alleges Political Plot

Former Senate President Bukola Saraki faces renewed criminal charges over a deadly 2018 bank heist, which he dismisses as a politically motivated attack. | Contesto: cronaca

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• Nigeria: Offa Bank Robbery - Saraki Denies Fresh Charges, Alleges Political Plot

Contesto

Former Nigerian Senate President Bukola Saraki has vehemently denied any connection to the deadly 2018 Offa bank robbery, after the Kwara State Government filed fresh criminal charges against him. Saraki, a towering figure in the nation's opposition politics, has labeled the legal action a politically motivated plot and a blatant abuse of the judicial process. The charges, filed in a Kwara State High Court, reopen a case that has been a source of intense political controversy for over five years, directly implicating one of the country's most prominent political figures in one of its most violent criminal incidents. The Offa robbery, which occurred on April 5, 2018, remains one of the most brazen and lethal attacks in recent Nigerian history. A large gang of armed men simultaneously struck several commercial banks in the town of Offa, Kwara State, in a military-style operation. The assault resulted in the deaths of at least 33 people, including nine police officers. The sheer scale of the violence and theft sent shockwaves across the nation and prompted a massive investigation by the Nigeria Police Force. During that initial probe, suspects allegedly claimed they were political thugs working for Saraki, then the most powerful political leader in Kwara State. Saraki, who served as Senate President from 2015 to 2019, has consistently and forcefully rejected these allegations since they first surfaced. Following the 2018 claims, he presented himself for questioning at the police headquarters in Abuja, maintaining his innocence. The case appeared to have reached a legal conclusion in 2019 when the federal government, through the Attorney-General of the Federation, withdrew the charges against him and others, citing a lack of sufficient evidence to secure a conviction. This latest move by the Kwara State Government, controlled by the All Progressives Congress (APC), which is also the national ruling party, effectively resurrects the serious allegations from the state level. The political dimension of the case is impossible to ignore and forms the core of Saraki's defense. In his response, he framed the charges as a continuation of a long-running political...

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Categoria: cronaca