Pressure group demands due process as Kwara reopens Offa Robbery case
By Mosunmola Ayobami, Ilorin
The Kwara Governance Reform Group (KGRG) has called for calm and strict adherence to the rule of law following renewed attention on the 2018 Offa bank robbery case, warning against attempts to politicise the matter.
Speaking at a press briefing held on Friday, April 24, 2026, at the Nigeria Union of Journalists Secretariat in Ilorin, the group’s Publicity Secretary, Queen Latifah Olanrewaju, urged stakeholders to allow due legal process to run its course without interference.
She noted that recent developments surrounding the case should not be distorted by media narratives or political interests, stressing that justice must remain impartial and transparent.
The group explained that renewed focus on the case, which has been linked in public discourse to Bukola Saraki, Abdulfatah Ahmed, and two former aides, was not initiated by the state government but arose from fresh demands for justice by concerned stakeholders.
Olanrewaju said, “The Kwara Governance Reform Group has observed with concern attempts to present a criminal investigation as political persecution, noting that justice must remain above politics in a case that claimed 33 innocent lives.”
The group further stated that the Offa Descendants Union had, on October 3, 2024, petitioned the state government to revisit aspects of the case, following earlier convictions secured against some of the suspects.
It also referenced rulings by Haleema Salman and the Court of Appeal in Ilorin, which upheld convictions for armed robbery, illegal possession of firearms, and culpable homicide, adding that the case could still proceed to the Supreme Court.
The KGRG cautioned political actors, particularly within the Peoples Democratic Party, against framing the issue as partisan victimisation, insisting that the memory of the victims demands accountability, justice, and respect for due process.
