Youths in Kwara State have warned the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, to stop making derogatory remarks linking the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to last year’s Offa bank robbery.
The youths, under the aegis of Kwara Youths Strategic Movement, gave the warning yesterday in a statement signed by its Coordinator, Gegele Ahmed Ibrahim.
Recall that the Minister had claimed that Saraki lied in a radio broadcast that he donated N10m to Offa community after the infamous bank robbery.
But the group, in a swift reaction, accused Lai Mohammed of persistence in linking the Senate President to the bank robbery in a bid to score cheap political points ahead of next months general elections.
The statement reads: “We are completely taken aback, by the statement credited to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alh. Lai Mohammed, in an attempt to score cheap political points, linking the Senate President to the Offa bank robbery.
“In the case of the Offa bank robbery, it is commonplace that the suspects arrested in connection with the robbery either implicated the Senate President or dropped his name in the course of the investigation, despite the unrestrained attempt by his political adversaries to implicate him.
“The Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki, responded in writing to the Police when he was asked to do so, reiterating his innocence and till date, neither the Nigerian police nor any court of competent jurisdiction has found him culpable.
“Why then should a revered politician and senior citizens like Alhaji Lai Mohammed who should be an epitome of peaceful coexistence and an advocate for the rule of law, go completely berserk by claiming that the Senate President had a hand in the robbery.
“We call on the Minister of Information not to throw caution to the wind in an attempt to score cheap political points.
“He must always remember that we all have a binding duty to uphold the ethos of fairness, equity, and justice, any departure from this acceptable standard is disingenuous, mischievous and wicked!
“We implore the general public to avoid playing politics with the unfortunate incident and avoid making statements capable of causing confusion, especially at this critical period when the 2019 election is fast approaching.”
The statement added that Abubakar Malami, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) has since reported, through a letter, that there is no evidence that links Saraki to the Offa robbery.
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