By Kingston Magare 17.4.2026
Former Kwara State governor and also one time Senate president Bukola Saraki is still being haunted by the 2018 Offa bank robbery that shocked the entire nation.
The Kwara State governor is filing a 20 count charge against Mr. Saraki for alleged complicity in the crime. Also, former Kwara governor Abdulfatah Ahmed and two others are also facing charges in the April 2018 robbery.
The case, marked KWS/114C/26, also listed Yusuf Abdulwahab and Alabi Olalekan as defendants.
They are expected to be arraigned before Justice Haleemah Salman of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin on June 4.
According to Prosecutors Saraki was implicated by the robbers who pulled out one of Nigeria’s deadliest bank heists. 32 persons including police men were killed in the attack.
Prosecutors are relying on confessional statements, particularly from Ayo Akinnibosun, who allegedly led armed gang connected to political figures.
They also cited the recovery of weapons and exhibits from Government House and a state ministry in 2018.
However, Mr. Saraki denied being an accomplice. He argued that the case against him was politically motivated.
“Let me categorically state that I have nothing to do directly or indirectly with any case of armed robbery or any criminal matter whatsoever,” Saraki said in a statement Friday.
He submitted that he had earlier been cleared by police investigations and legal advice from the Federal Ministry of Justice.
“For the Senate President and the Kwara State Governor, this office is unable to establish from the evidence… a nexus between the alleged offence and the suspects,” he quoted from a 2018 report.
“Suddenly, the governor woke up after I granted an interview… and thought he could resurrect these baseless charges against me,” he said.
“One would have thought that a governor whose state has lost over 400 lives to banditry… would concentrate efforts on tackling the insecurity menace.
“I have full confidence in the ability of the judiciary to give justice… this case against me will collapse like a pack of cards,” he said.
The suspects in the crime were sentenced to death by Kwara State High Court. In January 2026, the Court of Appeal upheld the death sentences of five convicted offenders, including Akinnibosun.
The case is currently before the Supreme Court, while the fresh charges against Saraki and others are expected to commence in June.