Saraki Directs ADC To Force Headquarters To Receive Police Invitation

Senate President Bukola Saraki said on Monday that he has sent his aide-de-camp to the Force Headquarters to pick up an invitation letter — if the police have such a message for him.

The police said on Sunday that an invitation had been extended to Mr Saraki to answer questions bordering on murder allegations at their intelligence department in Abuja. Some suspects arrested in connection to the April 5 armed robbery attack in Offa, Kwara State, allegedly owned up to the murder of at least 33 persons in the heist, which also affected five banks.

The police said five of the suspects incriminated Mr Saraki as their main financier and arm supplier. Mr Saraki issued a fierce denial to the police’s claims Sunday night, dismissing all the allegations as unfounded and a pedestrian plot to frame him up in criminal investigations.

The Senate President described the murder allegations against him as a further manifestation of a desperate plot to frame him up.

Nonetheless, the top lawmaker said he would honour the police invitation, but only after receiving formal communication, even though Inspector-General Ibrahim Idris repeatedly ignored Senate invitations for several weeks this year.

The police did not say whether an invitation had actually been sent out to Mr Saraki, they only announced that he had been summoned for questioning. They also said he should see detectives at the intelligence monitoring unit in Guzape, about seven kilometres south of downtown Abuja.

The police spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood, did not immediately respond to newsmen requests for clarification about the status of Mr Saraki’s invitation.

After waiting throughout Sunday and Monday morning without a formal communication from the police, Mr Saraki announced in a Twitter update that his top security official had gone to demand the invitation from the police.

“I have just informed my ADC to get the letter of invitation from @PoliceNG in respect of the allegations raised yesterday — so that I can immediately honour the alleged invitation,” the Senate President wrote at 12:18 p.m.