Kwara State Government of abusing the judicial process and pursuing a political vendetta against him over the case of Offa bank robbery.
This is after the government abandoned 18 of the 20 criminal charges initially brought against him and former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed over the 2018 incident.
Saraki, through his media office, described the amendment of the charges as an indication that the original allegations linking the former governors to armed robbery, killings and illegal possession of firearms could not be sustained.
The state government, in an amended charge sheet marked KWS/114C/2026, has reduced the original 20 counts to four.
It removed all 18 allegations relating to armed robbery and retained two other counts while introducing two additional allegations.
The new charges were filed against Saraki, Ahmed, their former Chief of Staff, Yusuf Abdulwahab, and former political aide, Alabi Olalekan.
It include conspiracy to belong to a gang of thieves, membership of a gang of thieves, and allegations concerning the concealment and disappearance of a vehicle allegedly used for an unlawful purpose.
The prosecution’s motion seeking the court’s consideration of the amended charges was dated November 6 and supported by an affidavit filed by a litigation clerk in the office of the state Attorney-General, Ibrahim Sulyman (SAN).
Reacting to the development, Saraki’s media office, in a statement signed by its head, Yusuph Olaniyonu, said the government had abandoned the most serious allegations after spending months attempting to bring the former governors before the court on charges it could not substantiate.
The office particularly questioned the decision to remove allegations that Saraki and Ahmed conspired to carry out armed robberies at several banks in Offa, including Guarantee Trust Bank, First Bank, Ecobank and Union Bank.
It also recalled that the original charge sheet accused the former governors and others of participating in armed robbery at Zenith Bank, while alleging their involvement in the deaths of police officers and illegal possession of firearms.
Olaniyonu said the government’s decision to replace those allegations with charges bordering on membership of a gang of thieves “exposed the weakness of the original prosecution.
“Without commenting on a case that has been filed in court, we consider the amendment of the charges ridiculous, mischievous, ill-intentioned, and a further attempt to abuse the judicial process,” he said.
The media office further alleged that the prosecution was politically motivated.
It argued that the charges were instituted during an election season to damage Saraki’s standing ahead of the 2027 general elections.
It also claimed that the state government had spent close to N100m on newspaper advertisements publicising its allegations against the former governors.
He described the expenditure as a waste of public resources on claims it said had now been abandoned.
He further linked the criminal proceedings to a separate civil action instituted by some relatives of the Offa robbery victims against the state government, its Attorney-General, Saraki and Ahmed, seeking compensation over the incident.
Saraki’s media office maintained that the latest development would not deter the former Senate President from challenging the remaining allegations.
He insisted that the amended charges would also fail in court.
The reaction comes amid prolonged preliminary legal battles that have prevented the criminal case from proceeding to substantive trial since it was instituted in April 2026.
The Offa robbery occurred on April 5, 2018, when armed men attacked several banks and a police station, killing 33 people, including 12 police officers and a pregnant woman.
Five principal suspects were convicted and sentenced to death in September 2024, with the Court of Appeal affirming their convictions and sentences in January 2026.
Saraki’s media office said the former Senate President was currently in Offa, campaigning for Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
He argued that the reception he had received in the area demonstrated that residents had not accepted the allegations against him.
