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PHOTOS: Why Force HQ invited Saraki over the Offa bank robberies
The Nigeria Police Force Headquarters, Abuja, has stated why it invited the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, over the Offa bank robberies of April 5, 2018, in which 30 people, including nine policemen, died.
According to a press release on its Facebook page and signed by Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, Abuja, ACP Jimoh Moshood, the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, “is being invited to report to the Police to answer allegations indicting him from confessions of five gang leaders arrested for active participation in Offa bank robberies and killings of 33 innocent persons.”
See the full press statement:
UPDATE OF POLICE INVESTIGATION INTO THE OFFA BANKS ROBBERY AND GRUESOME MURDER OF MORE THAN THIRTY THREE (33) INNOCENT PERSONS INCLUDING PREGNANT WOMEN AND NINE (9) POLICE OFFICERS ON 5th APRIL, 2018, IN OFFA, KWARA STATE.
- Twenty Two (22) Suspects now in Police Custody.
- Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki is being invited to report to the Police to answer allegations indicting him from confessions of Five (5) Gang leaders arrested for active participation in Offa Bank Robbery and Killings of THIRTY THREE (33) Innocent persons.
SUSPECTS
- Ayoade Akinnibosun a.k.a AY ‘M’ 37Yrs – Gang Leader (Coordinated the Killings) From Oro, Irepodun LGA, Kwara State.
- Ibukunle Ogunleye ‘M’ 36Yrs – Gang Leader, Killed Two (2) Persons. From Oro, Irepodun LGA, Kwara State
iii. Adeola Abraham ‘M’ 35Yrs – Gang Leader, Killed Five (5) Persons. From Oro, Irepodun LGA, Kwara State.
- Salawudeen Azeez ‘M’ 49Yrs – Gang Leader, Killed Two (2) Persons. From Oro, Irepodun LGA, Kwara State.
- Niyi Ogundiran ‘M’ 37Yrs – Gang Leader, Killed Two (2) Persons (Latest Confession). From Oro, Irepodun LGA, Kwara State.
- Michael Adikwu ‘M’ 30Yrs – Sectional Gang Leader, Killed Twenty Two (22) Persons, mostly at the Police Station.
vii. Kabiru Afolabi ‘M’ 26Yrs – Principal Suspect
viii. Omoseni Kassim ‘M’ 28Yrs – Principal Suspect
- Kayode Opadokun ‘M’ 35Yrs – Principal Suspect
- Kazeem Abdulrasheed ‘M’ 36Yrs – Principal Suspect
- Azeez Abdullahi ‘M’ 27Yrs – Principal Suspect
xii. Adewale Popoola ‘M’ 22Yrs – Principal Suspect
xiii. Adetoyese Muftau ‘M’ 23Yrs – Principal Suspect
xiv. Alexander Reuben ‘M’ 39Yrs – Principal Suspect
- Richard Buba Terry ‘M’ 23Yrs – Principal Suspect
xvi. Peter Jasper Kuunfa ‘M’ 23Yrs – Principal Suspect
xvii. Ikechukwu Ebuka Nnaji ‘M’ 29Yrs – Principal Suspect
xviii. Moses Godwin ‘M’ 28Yrs – Principal Suspect
xix. Adeola omiyale ‘M’ 38Yrs. From Isanlu Isin Town, Isin LGA, Kwara State.
- Femi Idowu ‘M’ 34Yrs
xxi. Alabi Olalekan ‘M’ 49Yrs-PA Political to Executive Governor, Kwara State
xxii. Yusuf Abdulwahab ‘M’ 58Yrs –Chief of Staff to Executive Governor, Kwara State
EXHIBITS
- Two (2) AK47 Rifles
- Two (2) Barrette Pistols
iii. One (1) Pump Action Rifle
- One (1) Revolver Pistol – In Police Custody in Ilorin
- Lexus RX300 Jeep with Reg. No. Kwara, KMA 143 RM belonging to Ayoade Akinnibosun (Gang Leader) – Used for the Bank Robbery
- Mercedes Benz – Compressor with Reg. No. Lagos LT496 KJA belonging to Ayoade Akinnibosun (Gang Leader) – Used for the Bank Robbery
vii. One (1) Toyota Prado Jeep with Reg. No. 19KWGH belonging to the PA Political to the Executive Governor, Kwara State – In Police Custody in Ilorin
viii. One (1) Toyota Camry Saloon Car with Reg. No. LRN 481 FE – In Police Custody in Ilorin
- The Cash Sum of Six Hundred Thousand Naira (N600,000.00) – In Police Custody in Ilorin
- Four (4) Phones of victims recovered
- One (1) Sticker plate number with inscription “SARAKI” “Kwara, State of Harmony”
The investigation into the Offa Bank Robbery and gruesome killings of more than THIRTY THREE (33) Innocent persons in Offa, Kwara State on the 5th April, 2018 directed by the Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim K. Idris, NPM, mni, has made significant progress, successes and more revelations have been recorded.
The Gang Leaders and some of the principal suspects arrested for their active participation in the robbery and the killing of innocent persons have made confessional statements admitting to the various criminal roles they and their sponsors played in this dastard and heinous crime.
- The Five (5) gang leaders namely; Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibukunle Ogunleye, Adeola Abraham, Salawudeen Azeez, Niyi Ogundiran and some of the other Seventeen (17) suspects arrested for direct involvement and active participation in the Offa Bank Robbery and the gruesome killing of THIRTY THREE (33) innocent persons which includes (some pregnant women and nine (9) Police personnel) admitted, confessed and volunteered statements that they were political thugs of the Senate President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Sen. Bukola Saraki and the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Alh. Abdulfatah Ahmed.
- The arrests of the above mentioned Five (5) Gang Leaders and seventeen (17) others were made possible after the arrest of two principal suspects (Kunle Ogunleye aka Arrow 35yrs and Michael Adikwu an Ex-Convict) whose pictures captured by CCTV in one of the Banks during the Banks robbery were circulated to the media and the public. The two (2) principal suspects confessed to be among the suspects led by the five (5) gang leaders listed in paragraph 2 above to carry out the Offa Banks Robbery, the attack on the Divisional Police Headquarters, Offa and the killings of THIRTY THREE (33) innocent persons on the 5th of April, 2018.
- During interrogation, the five (5) gang leaders mentioned in paragraph 2 further confessed and volunteered statements that they carried out the Bank Robberies, the attack on the Divisional Police Headquarters in Offa and the killings of THIRTY THREE (33) innocent persons during the robbery of the following six (6) banks (i) First Bank Offa (ii) Guarantee Trust Bank Offa (iii) ECO Bank Offa (iv) Zenith Bank Offa (v) Union Bank Offa (vi) Ibolo Micro Finance Bank Offa and (vii) the Divisional Police Headquarters, Offa on 5th April, 2018.
- Millions of Naira from the Banks and Twenty One (21) AK47 Rifles belonging to the Nigeria Police Force in the Armoury of the Police Divisional Headquarters, Offa were admitted to have been carted away by the Five (5) gang leaders and the other Seventeen (17) principal suspects during the Banks robbery.
- The Five (5) gang leaders confessed and volunteered statements to the Police investigators, giving a clear account of how they planned and carried out the Banks robbery operation in Offa, the attack on the Police Division in Offa and how they killed the THIRTY THREE (33) innocent persons during the robbery.
7 The Five (5) gang leaders further confessed during investigation that they are political thugs under the name Youth Liberation Movement a.k.a “Good Boys” admitted and confessed to have been sponsored with firearms, money and operational vehicles by the Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki and the Governor of Kwara State, Alh. Abdulfatah Ahmed.
- In the course of discreet investigation into the confessions of these five (5) gang leaders and the other seventeen (17) principal suspects, a Lexus jeep GX-300 (Ash Colour) with a sticker plate number with inscription “SARAKI” “Kwara, State of Harmony” used by the gang leader (Ayoade Akinnibosun ‘M’ 37Yrs) during the bank robbery and the killing of the THIRTY THREE (33) innocent persons was taken to Government House, Ilorin on 16th May, 2018 where the sticker plate number with inscription “SARAKI” “Kwara, State of Harmony” was removed before another plate number (Reg. No. Kwara, KMA 143 RM) registered in the name of Ayoade AKinnibosun the Overall Commander of the Offa Bank Robbery was then attached to the vehicle to cover up the identity of the said vehicle. The exhibit vehicle was subsequently recovered from the premises of the Min. of Environmental and Forestry in Ilorin, Kwara State. While the sticker plate number with inscription “SARAKI” “Kwara, State of Harmony” removed from the vehicle was recovered from one Adeola Omiyale who drove the said Lexus Jeep to Government House, Ilorin immediately after the Bank Robbery.
- The Personal Assistant (Political) to the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Mr. Alabi Olalekan, who is privy to information that the Police is looking for the lexus Jeep as an exhibit used in the Offa Bank Robbery and the killings of THIRTY THREE (33) innocent persons directed one Adeola Omiyale to relocate the Lexus Jeep to Government House, Ilorin. The PA (Political) is currently in Police custody and has made useful statement assisting the Police in further investigation into the case. A revolver pistol and pump action gun were recovered by the Police Investigation Team from the Personal Assistant (Political) to the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Mr. Alabi Olalekan’s Farm where he directed his brother to hide them after his arrest by the Police.
- In order to conceal evidence, the Chief of Staff to the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Mr. Yusuf Abdulwahab who has been arrested and taken into Police custody, arranged the removal of the sticker plate number with inscription “SARAKI” “Kwara, State of Harmony” from the exhibit vehicle and also registered the exhibit Lexus Jeep used in the Offa Bank Robbery and the killings of THIRTY THREE (33) innocent persons in the name of Ayoade AKinnibosun, the overall Gang Commander of the Offa Bank Robbery while the Ayoade AKinnibosun was already in Police custody for more than six (6) days before the registration of the vehicle.
- Investigation is ongoing and effort is being intensified to arrest other suspects still at large. All suspects involved will be arraigned in court for prosecution on completion of investigation.
- Meanwhile, the Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki is being invited by the Nigeria Police Force to report to the Force Intelligence Response Team office at Guzape, Abuja to answer to the allegations levelled against him from the confessions of the Five (5) Gang Leaders, namely; Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibukunle Ogunleye, Adeola Abraham, Salawudeen Azeez, Niyi Ogundiran and some of the other Seventeen (17) suspects arrested for direct involvement and active participation in the Offa Bank Robbery and the gruesome killing of THIRTY THREE (33) innocent persons which includes (some pregnant women and nine (9) Police personnel).
- The Nigeria Police Force will continue to ensure that the rule of law prevails in every case under Police investigation and every offender is brought to justice.
ACP JIMOH MOSHOOD
FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
FORCE HEADQUARTERS
ABUJA
And photos shared by Nigeria Police Force:
The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has encouraged media practitioners to introduce probing of manifestoes of aspiring political office holders as part of their responsibilities to reshape the country from frivolous and unkept promises.
Lanre Issa-Onilu, the director general of the agency, gave the task while speaking a a panelist at the 9th annual conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), with the theme,’ Reconciling Campaign Promises with Governance Realities: Challenges and Prospect’, held in Lagos
He pointed out that some of the so-called manifestos are not originally from those who presented but the party they belong to, and they end up subscribing to such manifestos, stressing that as media practitioners this should be probed.
‘Some people proposed manifestos which are not theirs, but party manifestos. They end up subscribing to their party manifestos. As journalists, we do not question manifestos, but populated airtime for other things’
He equally pointed out that the manifesto of the federal government is the manifesto that governed Lagos state, explaining that the National Orientation Agency(NOA) is to communicate government projects.
The Director General added that government require value documentation, recalling that before he joined the agency, he was among those who said it should be scrapped, but when he got there, he discovered that the staff there are committed
‘Before I went to NOA. I was among those who said it should be scrapped. It is not the Agency’s problem but a Nigerian problem. When I got there, I discovered that the staff there are committed
‘I am an agency under a Ministry. There is the problem of the need to have them buy into what I want to do. I am lucky to get the support of the president who is interested in the unity of the country’, he stated.
News
Enugu State Govt Condemns Murder of Catholic Priest, Places ₦10 Million Bounty on Killers
…Commiserates with family, Catholic Church
The Enugu State Government has strongly condemned the gruesome murder of Rev. Fr. Mathew Eya of Nsukka Catholic Diocese by unknown assailants.
The government also commiserated with the late priest’s immediate family, the Catholic Diocese of Nsukka, and indeed the Catholic faithful in general over the tragic incident, which occurred on Friday, September 19, 2025.
In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dr. Malachy Agbo, the government described the action as cowardly and cold-blooded.
Father Eya was said to have been shot dead by a group of assailants, who attacked and killed him along Alumona- Eha Ndiagu road in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu.
The government has, therefore, reiterated that security of lives and property remains its priority and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.
It added that it would not spare any resources within its reach, including technology and credible intelligence to track down the criminals and defeat the remnant agents of evil in the state.
Consequently, the Enugu State Government has placed a ₦10 million reward for anyone with credible information that could lead to the arrest of the perpetrators of the heinous crime.
Anybody with credible information about the perpetrators should quickly contact 07077451426.
The International Press Institute (IPI), a global body committed to protecting press freedom and the free flow of information, has raised concern over the recent cases of media repression in the country.
Mr Musikilu Mojeed, president, IPI Nigeria, raised the alarm at a dinner organised by the institute, to honour one of its members and a retired Director, Digital Media, Voice of Nigeria (VON) Hajia Hadiza Hussaina Sani in Abuja on Saturday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the dinner was organised to honour the media icon for her dedication and service, after clocking mandatory retirement age of 60 years.
NAN also reports that the identical twin sister of the celebrator, Hajia Ameena Hassana Sani, equally retired meritoriously from the service of the agency (NAN) as a Director.
Speaking at the event, Mojeed, Editor-in-Chief, Premium Times, cited the recent “disturbing” instances of banning of live political programme in Kano State and the arrest of a journalist in Ekiti State.
“Akwa Ibom State Government recently evicted Channels TV crew, a journalist and a cameraman, from the press centre inside Government House, Uyo.
“The repressive action was taken, over the publication of a video clip, where the governor, eventually confirmed he is defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“A journalist with FIJ, Sodiq Atanda was recently arrested by the police in Ekiti State.
“A former “ThisDay” employee, Azuka Ogujiuba, was reportedly arrested and harassed by the Police for doing her job.
“Every single day you wake up, it is one form of harassment or the other against the media,” he said.
Mojeed, called for continued advocacy to protect press freedom and promote independent journalism.
He stressed that, efforts to protect journalists’ rights and promote independent journalism are crucial in Nigeria’s media landscape.
Mojeed said Sani’s retirement came at a critical time when the media sector in Nigeria is facing numerous challenges, including harassment, arrests, and censorship.
He noted Sani’s significant contributions to IPI Nigeria, including her role in organising its World Congress in Nigeria in 2018, as well as her subsequent active participation in various committees.
Mojeed appealed to the celebrator to continue advocating for press freedom and supporting the work of IPI Nigeria, emphasising that her expertise and experience are invaluable to the organisation.
The Director-General, VON, Mallam Jibrin Ndace, expressed gratitude to IPI Nigeria for recognising Sani’s contributions, stating that the gesture also reflected positively on the entire VON team.
He described Sani as a professional journalist who seamlessly transitioned from traditional journalism to modern digital practices, leading the digital department with innovation.
According to the DG, Sani’s leadership in the digital space, kept VON at the forefront of public media institutions and global competitiveness.
He commended her experience, passion, and love for journalism, which he said, enabled her to excel in her role and serve as a role model for younger journalists.
The VON DG emphasised that, “journalism is a marathon, not a sprint”, and Sani’s long-standing career is a testament to her dedication and commitment to the profession.
Mr Garba Shehu, s spokesman to late President Muhammadu Buhari, described the retirement of Sani as a significant loss for the organisation but a potential gain for other sectors of the journalism profession.
Shehu praised her, as “a strong and young professional with much to contribute to journalism”.
He highlighted her unique qualities, particularly her social responsibility, selflessness, and commitment to helping others to succeed.
According to him, Sani embodies the principles of servant leadership, a concept often touted by politicians but rarely exemplified.
“Her legacy as a role model for young journalists and a champion of socially responsible journalism will continue to inspire others in the field,” he said.
Abdulwaheed Odusile, former President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), commended Sani’s dedication and expertise, which he said, have earned her recognition and respect in the industry..
On her part, Sani expressed gratitude to God and her family for their support throughout her 34 years career in public service.
While reflecting on the challenges and rewards of her time in service, she highlighted the importance of dedication, clear vision, and family support.
Sani emphasised the need for media professionals to adapt to new technologies and appreciate their impact on the industry and the society
She stressed that, telling a good story starts with understanding oneself and one’s audience.
Despite retiring from active public service, she assured to remain active in the media space, pursuing research, teaching, writing, and lecturing.
“It has been a very difficult, challenging, interesting and rewarding 34 years in service.
“It’s not easy. You have new and great ideas, but some people don’t understand, so they find it a bit difficult to agree with you.
“But if you are consistent, if you have a clear vision of what you want to achieve, and you are dedicated and resolute, the sky is not the limit.
“I have pulled out from active public service, but have not retired. My brain is still exceptionally active, and I plan to utilise it.
“I’ll be doing a lot of research work and writing, and I won’t get tired of seeing myself in the media space,” she said.
NAN reports that Sani’s dedication to her work and her commitment to excellence have been hallmarks of her career, which started with the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) before joining VON.
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