Kwara governor replies police on allegations he, Saraki sponsored Offa robbery suspects
- The Kwara state governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has reacted to the police alleged allegations of sponsoring, or otherwise supporting political thuggery
- Governor Ahmed described the allegations as false and rejected his alleged indictment by the police or the armed robbery suspects in their custody
- He expressed hope that the police will soon complete its investigations and charge the suspects to court in line with rule of law
The Kwara state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed on Sunday, June 3, denied the police alleged allegations of sponsoring, funding, arming or otherwise supporting political thuggery.
In a statement issued by his senior special assistant on media and communication, Muyideen Akorede, Ahmed described the allegations as false and rejected his alleged indictment by the Nigeria police or the armed robbery suspects in their custody, Premium Times reports.
Ahmed said while the state government has empowered several youth groups under its acclaimed Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) scheme, neither he nor the statement government can be held liable for how beneficiaries utilise the credit. He therefore urged the police to complete their investigations and charge the suspects to court soon in line with the dictates of the rule of law.
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Below is the full text of the statement:
Kwara state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed denies the allegations of supporting political thuggery or any other acts of criminality as alleged by the Nigeria police or the suspects allegedly arrested in connection with the tragic Offa robbery. Neither has he at any time funded or provided arms to any individual or group in the state or anywhere in the country.
To set the records straight, the Kwara state government has a well known empowerment scheme under the Small And Medium Enterprises platform which is used to move women and youths groups into entrepreneurship.
Consequently, several youth and women groups have benefitted from the scheme to date. However, at no point did the Kwara state government directly provide funds to any group known as Good Boys for any purpose.
Similarly, if any of the beneficiaries chose to use the SME credit secured from the government to purchase a vehicle which was then alleged to have been used for an act of criminality, the Kwara state governor and indeed the state government cannot be held liable for such actions since neither had prior knowledge of such intentions on beneficiaries’ part.
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The Kwara state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, also rejects the police allegation of arming and funding the suspects for political thuggery or for any other activity as false and unfounded as thuggery or any other form of criminality is neither encouraged nor supported by the state government or its agents.
While refuting the alleged indictment, therefore, governor Abdulfatah Ahmed expresses the hope that the police will soon complete its investigations and charge the suspects to court in line with rule of law.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Senate president Bukola Saraki were invited by the police over the deadly robbery that took place at Offa in Kwara state.
The Senate president was invited to answer to allegations surrounding his links to the armed robbers behind the deadly robbery in April.
Jimoh Moshood, the force public relations officer disclosed this in Abuja on Sunday, June 3, while parading 22 suspects in custody for the robbery.
Nigeria News: Offa bank robbery - The untold story (NAIJ EXCLUSIVE) | - on Legit.ng TV:
Source: Legit.ng
