*Raising Questions About Kwara Government’s Fresh 20-Count Charge Eight Years Later
Two legal opinions issued by the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation in 2018 both signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions on behalf of then-AGF Abubakar Malami concluded that there was no evidence linking former Senate President Bukola Saraki to the tragic Offa robbery attack that killed 33 people, including 12 police officers and a pregnant woman.
The resurfaced legal advice, dated June 22, 2018, and August 23, 2018, stated explicitly that the AGF’s office was “unable to establish from the evidence a nexus between the alleged offence” and Saraki, and found “no prima facie case against him for any offences of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery and culpable homicide punishable with death.”
The disclosure raises pointed questions about the legal and evidentiary basis for the Kwara State Government’s recent decision to file a fresh 20-count charge against Saraki, former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, and two aides over allegations of arming the convicted Offa robbers charges filed eight years after the federal AGF’s office twice concluded there was insufficient evidence to prosecute.
On April 5, 2018, multiple banks were raided and a police station was attacked in Offa, a town in Kwara State, resulting in 33 fatalities. The attack was one of the most violent armed robbery incidents in Nigeria’s recent history, claiming the lives of 12 police officers, a pregnant woman, and 20 other civilians.
After the incident, the police arrested six suspects. Michael Adikwu, the suspected mastermind and a dismissed police officer, died in custody. The remaining five Ayoade Akinnibosun (described as the gang leader), Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Abraham, Salahudeen Azeez, and Niyi Ogundiran — were subsequently tried.
In September 2024, a Kwara State High Court found all five defendants guilty of illegal possession of firearms, armed robbery, and culpable homicide. They were sentenced to death. In January 2026, the Court of Appeal upheld the convictions and death sentences.
Saraki’s alleged connection to the robbery was introduced by the police shortly after the arrests. The police invited Saraki and alleged that Akinnibosun, the gang leader, claimed the gang members were political thugs who worked for the former Senate President.
The police further alleged that Akinnibosun claimed he received vehicles and monetary gifts from Saraki through Yusuf Abdulwahab, a former chief of staff to then-Governor Ahmed.
Speaking during the parade of suspects, Akinnibosun told journalists that his group had been working for Saraki since he was governor but he also told journalists that Saraki was not aware of their involvement in the armed robbery attack.
However, the allegations against Saraki took a dramatic turn during a court hearing in March 2019, when Akinnibosun alleged that Abba Kyari then Deputy Commissioner of Police asked him and the other accused to implicate Saraki and that he was threatened to make confessional statements.
Kyari, who was subsequently arrested and detained by the NDLEA on drug trafficking charges and later died in custody, was never formally investigated or charged in connection with the alleged coercion.
The first legal opinion, dated June 22, 2018, was addressed to the Inspector-General of Police and signed by Mohammed U.E., Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, on behalf of AGF Malami.
The opinion stated that the AGF’s office was “unable to establish from the evidence in the interim report a nexus between the alleged offence and suspects” referring to Saraki and Ahmed.
The AGF’s office advised that “further and more thorough investigation” should be carried out to determine whether Saraki and Ahmed approved or knew about the planning and execution of the Offa robbery, and whether the weapons used were supplied by either of them.
The office recommended that any investigation should focus on areas “that may assist in establishing a prima facie case of aiding and abetting crime, or accessory after the fact.”
Regarding the aides, the opinion found that there was “no evidence credible enough to sustain any charge based on any offence known to law” against Abdulwahab, the former chief of staff. However, it recommended that Alabi Olalekan, a former personal assistant to Ahmed on political matters, should be charged for illegal possession of firearms.
Two months later, a second legal opinion was issued and its conclusion was identical.
The AGF’s office stated there was “no departure” from the June 2018 legal advice regarding Saraki’s alleged involvement.
“The office is still unable to establish any prima facie case against him for any offences of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery and culpable homicide punishable with death,” the second opinion stated.
The AGF’s office again recommended that Olalekan be charged separately for illegal possession of firearms, and reiterated that the investigation report did not disclose any “collaborative evidence linking” Abdulwahab to the attack.
The police were advised to transfer the case file to the Kwara Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice for prosecution of the robbery suspects without charges against Saraki or Ahmed.
Despite the two legal opinions from the federal AGF’s office, the Kwara State Government has recently filed a 20-count charge against Saraki, Ahmed, Abdulwahab, and Olalekan over allegations of arming the convicted robbers.
The charges come after the conviction and sentencing to death of the five principal suspects and the Court of Appeal’s affirmation of those convictions in January 2026.
The decision to charge Saraki now eight years after the AGF’s office found no evidence, and after the gang leader himself alleged police coercion to implicate the former Senate President raises fundamental questions.
What new evidence, if any, has emerged since the AGF’s two legal opinions? The 2018 advice recommended further investigation to establish a nexus, but no public disclosure has been made of any new evidence discovered in the intervening eight years.
Why is the Kwara State Government rather than the federal AGF’s office bringing these charges? The original legal advice was issued by the federal DPP’s office, which found insufficient evidence. The transfer of the prosecution to the state level raises questions about whether the charges are driven by new evidence or by political considerations at the state level.
What is the relevance of Akinnibosun’s 2019 allegation that Abba Kyari coerced him into implicating Saraki? If the gang leader’s confessional statements were obtained under duress as he claimed in court the evidentiary foundation for linking Saraki to the robbery is further weakened.
Saraki has consistently denied any connection to the Offa robbery suspects. He has accused AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the current Governor of Kwara State, of attempting to embarrass him through politically motivated prosecution.
Saraki governed Kwara State from 2003 to 2011 and served as Senate President from 2015 to 2019. His political rivalry with Governor AbdulRazaq who defeated Saraki’s political machine in the 2019 elections has been one of the defining features of Kwara State politics.
The timing of the charges coming after years of political rivalry and despite two federal legal opinions finding no evidence lends weight to Saraki’s claim that the prosecution is politically motivated.
In a separate development, Saraki has stated publicly that he will not be running for president in 2027, arguing that the South should be allowed to complete its eight-year turn in the presidency. He has insisted that the PDP remains a strong party despite its internal crisis.
His statement positions him as a political elder statesman rather than an active candidate a role that makes the Kwara government’s decision to charge him at this moment appear more like an attempt to diminish his political influence than a genuine pursuit of justice for the Offa victims.
There is a notable irony in the legal advice having been issued under Malami’s tenure as AGF. Malami himself is now standing trial on charges of money laundering and corruption, with terrorism financing charges recently dropped. The same office that cleared Saraki in 2018 was headed by a man who is now accused of serious financial crimes.
However, the legal advice was signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions a career civil servant rather than by Malami personally, suggesting it reflected a professional assessment of the evidence rather than a political decision by the AGF.
