Offa robbery: Police diverting attention from extra -judicial killing, says Saraki

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has accused police authorities of diversion in the alleged extra judicial killing of a prime suspect in the April 5, 2018 Offa robbery incident, in which 33 persons were killed by the bandits.

Police had reported that the suspect, Michael Adikwu, died in detention  thus prompting Saraki to demand inquiry into the circumstances that led to the suspect’s death.

In response, the police said that Adikwu’s death will not stall the trial of the remaining suspects.

Police investigation had linked Saraki to some of the robbery suspects, who claimed that they received empowerment from him, and that, they had been used by Saraki, in the past, to disrupt elections in Kwara State.

But in a statement, yesterday, by his media Adviser, Yusuph Olaniyonu, the Senate President described the police’s respinse as mere diversionary tactic.

According to him, the action of the police was aimed at evading the serious issues of human rights abuse, extra-judicial killing and politicisation of criminal investigations.

The statement clarified that when he mentioned in his statement on Wednesday, that he had been vindicated, Saraki was not referring to the outcome of a case which is just about to commence.

Rather, the statement he claimed, was pointing to the belated admission by the police, that Michael Adikwu, the prime suspect, had died in custody, a fact that was initially denied by the police when he (Senate President) raised it a few months ago.

He alleged a cover up by the police in the mishandling of the investigations, adding that police authorities have continued to make inconsistent statements and committing more blunders.

“The police, while reacting to our disclosure that the prime suspect had died in custody, caused their spokesman, Moshood Jimoh, to respond that: ‘Michael Adikwu is in police custody in one of the South-west states…helping in the investigation’. The same Police have equally documented the claim that the suspect died during arrest. What a contradiction!

“It is surprising that the Police, which initially allowed the said Adikwu to grant interviews to several national newspapers while in custody, refused to inform the public that the suspect had died, until the Attorney General of Kwara State, mentioned it on November 21, 2018 in the course of his address to the High Court in Ilorin, while applying to amend the charge sheet,” said Saraki.

Saraki urged President Muhammadu Buhari to institute an inquiry into Adikwu’s death because it has several implications for the country’s legal system and its engagement with the international community.

“This is an instance of what these international partners complain about. The Presidency should make a point that the present government does not tolerate human rights abuse, extra-judicial killing, politically-motivated criminal investigation and refusal to comply with global best practices by security agencies by instituting an inquiry into the case of the death of this suspect,” Saraki added.

The Senate President called for diligent prosecution of the Offa robbery case so that justice can be done to the innocent victims of the April 5 attacks, the suspects facing trial and the state where peace was disturbed by the sad incident.