Fresh facts have emerged on why the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation gave former Senate President Bukola Saraki and former Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed a clean bill of health over the April 5, 2018 Offa bank robbery that claimed no fewer than 31 lives .
The DPP, U.E. Mohammed, issued two separate legal advisories on June 22, 2018 and August 23, 2018 following investigations by the police Intelligence Response Team led by Deputy Commissioner Abba Kyari . Both reports concluded that there was no evidence linking Saraki and Ahmed to the crime.
In the first legal advice dated June 22, 2018, the DPP noted in paragraph 5(f) that “for the Senate President and the Kwara State Governor, this office is unable to establish from the evidence in the interim report a nexus between the alleged offence and the suspects.” The office recommended that further and thorough investigation be carried out .
After the police submitted a second report on July 27, 2018, the DPP prepared another legal advice dated August 23, 2018.
In paragraph 3(vi), the DPP stated that “with regards to the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, since there is no departure from the earlier findings in the interim report, this 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 DPP instead recommended six persons for prosecution: Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Ibrahim, Salawudeen Azeez, Niyi Ogundiran and Michael Adiukwu.
One of the suspects, Michael Adiukwu, later died in police custody, while the other five were tried and convicted at the Kwara State High Court. The Court of Appeal affirmed their convictions in January 2026, and the matter is now pending before the Supreme Court .
During the trial, the principal suspect, Ayoade Akinnibosun, told the court that Abba Kyari offered him N10 million and a visa to any country of his choice to implicate Saraki. Akinnibosun testified that he refused the offer, stating: “I told him I won’t do that. That I will rather die for what I didn’t do than to lie against an innocent man” . He also told the court that he was tortured and shot in the leg to force him to make a false statement against the former Senate President .
Despite the DPP’s clear legal advice and the subsequent conviction of the principal suspects, the Kwara State Government has filed a fresh 20-count charge against Saraki, Ahmed, and two others.
The charge, filed under case number KWS/114C/26, accuses them of criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide. They are expected to be arraigned before Justice Haleemah Salman of the Kwara State High Court on June 4, 2026 .
Saraki has denied any involvement in the robbery, describing the fresh charges as politically motivated. He noted that based on the DPP’s advice, suspects were prosecuted and convicted, and their convictions were upheld on appeal .
The Kwara State PDP also kicked against the move, describing it as “a desperate and reckless attempt by a politically drowning governor” whose administration is winding down without any meaningful legacy of performance .
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