The Chairman of the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, in Kwara State, Chief Iyiola Oyedepo, has stated that
the police did not induce the Offa armed robbery suspects to make confessions
against Dr. Bukola Saraki.
Recall we had reported how the
political thugs arrested in connection with the bloody Offa bank robbery
indicted the President of the Senate, Saraki and the Kwara State governor,
Abdulfatah Ahmed.
Asked in an interview with Punch
if President Muhammadu Buhari was victimizing Saraki and Ahmed through the
police by linking them to the Offa robbery, Oyedepo said, “No, I do not think
so. We must be objective in all our analysis or presentation on this matter.
“We should not tell lies against
anybody . The grievances of the nPDP are not the same thing with the criminal
allegations levelled against the Senate President and the governor.
“If they are pursuing their
demands within their party without any link tocrime, nobody will accuse them of
committing any crime. Their nPDP activities have nothing to do with sponsoring
thugs in Kwara State.
“If they did not sponsor thugs
and if those thugs did not make any confession, I believe that the Presidency
and the police will not manufacture lies against the Senate President and the
governor.
“For instance, I do not believe
that the suspects were induced to make confessional statements because those
boys are closely associated with the Government of Kwara State.
“Secondly , the state government
and Saraki have bought vehicles for the boys and I have had cause to raise the
alarm on a radio programme to
condemn the action in the
immediate past.
“The vehicles in possession of
the boys are without registered numbers. They were driving them around with
customised number plates which have Saraki’s name inscribed on them.
“The fact that the boys were (
allegedly ) on the payroll of the state
government was enough to dismiss insinuations that Saraki and Ahmed are being
unnecessarily victimised by the police . So , it is better for them to go and
clear the grey areas before creating an impression that they are being
persecuted . I don’ t believe that they are suffering any form of persecution.
“I have witnessed some of the
activities of the boys before and I was even a victim of their acts of thuggery
in the past.
“They are used to disturbing the
electorate and electoral process in Kwara State. I do not want people to mix
the Offa robbery up with the violent activities of the thugs. I am not saying
that Saraki participated in the robbery . I cannot even claim that he sent them
to go and rob.
“No! But he emboldened them to
live a life of crime. The boys relied on the authority of the number three
citizen in Nigeria , fully armed with guns and all other instruments of
violence , to do anything because they also enjoy the legitimate cover of
government.
“Anybody with such patronage from
high places will definitely take to the life of crime. So , the issue of
robbery is a separate case . It is a known fact that Saraki and Ahmed are
making use of those boys to perpetrate violence against perceived enemies
during elections . When they are short of funds, they take to robbery.
“There is therefore, a nexus
between the encouragement and patronage they are getting from the state
government and the crime they committed.
“So that is what we should look at instead of
putting up an argument that they were not sent to go and rob.”
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