BY BEN MEMULETIWON
For the President of the Nigerian Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, currently fighting the biggest political battle of his life, trouble doesn’t rain, it pours.
Less than 72 hours after the leader of the dare-devil Offa robbery gang, Ayoade Akinnibosun (a.k.a AY), told journalists that a Lexus jeep allegedly bought for him by the Senate President was one of the vehicles used for the dastardly act which claimed 33 lives, the police has opened the Pandora box against Saraki a little wider.
While addressing journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, the Force Public Relations Officer, FPRO, Jimoh Moshood, disclosed that two more members of the deadly gang have implicated Saraki in their confessions to investigators.
The new revelation came hot on the heels of another damning disclosure by the police, Tuesday, that barely 48 hours after the murderous gang unleashed hell on Offa, Kwara State, raiding five banks and the Divisional Headquarters of the Nigeria Police, killing nine cops, four leaders of the killer gang actually followed Ssaraki to the palace of the town’s paramount ruler, Oba Muftau Gbadamosi Esuwoye, the Olofa of Offa, on a sympathy visit.
Wednesday’s linking of Saraki to the Offa gang came three days after five leaders of the gang of 12 disclosed their link to both Saraki and Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed. They confessed to investigators, and repeated same before journalists that they were political thugs allegedly sponsored by the two men with weapons, vehicles and cash.
Consequently, Force Headquarters invited the Senate President to the Force Intelligence Response Team office at Guzape, Abuja, to respond to the damning allegations by the five gang leaders. The Police would recapitulate 24 hours after, telling Saraki not to report physically but send his written response to Force Headquarters.
As a result of that, Saraki dispatched his aide-camp, ADC, to go and collect the invitation on his behalf.
Hours later, the Department of State Services, DSS, reviewed the security architecture around the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara. The DSS withdrew some of their security details, only to restore them shortly after sequel to protests by the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) caucus in the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
In the midst of the roiling scandal swirling around the Senate President, the National Assembly rose from a joint executive session, Tuesday, to slam a 12-point demand on President Muhammadu Buhari, failing which it will invoke its powers against the President. Political watchers interpreted that threat to mean impeachment proceedings against the President.
In solidarity with the Principal of the National Assembly, the joint executive session passed a vote of confidence on Saraki and restated its insistence that the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris Kpotum, be sacked.
