Saraki Fires Back, Labels Gov AbdulRazaq ‘Clueless, Incompetent’ Over Offa Robbery Remark
Former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has lambasted Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, calling him “clueless, incompetent, irresponsible and unresponsive” after the Governor linked him to the 2018 Offa bank robbery.
OSUN DEFENDER had earlier reported that Governor AbdulRazaq, while speaking to journalists in Oke-Ode, blamed Saraki and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the worsening insecurity in Kwara and claimed that those behind the 2018 Offa robbery were loyalists of the former Senate President.
Saraki, in a statement issued by his media aide, Yusuph Olaniyonu, described AbdulRazaq’s comments during his visit to Oke-Ode — where bandits recently killed 21 people — as “reckless, defamatory, and a desperate attempt to divert attention from his government’s failure to protect lives.”
Saraki accused the Governor of lacking empathy and equating the widespread killings and kidnappings across Kwara with a single robbery incident that happened seven years ago.
“Our view is that it is either insensitivity or lack of capacity to appreciate and process issues that will make a governor equate the widespread killing, kidnapping, and maiming of people across two senatorial districts with a robbery incident,” he said.
According to him, over 50 communities in Kwara have been displaced due to bandit attacks, yet the Governor continues to shift blame rather than take responsibility.
He maintained that his criticism of the security situation was intended to draw national attention to the worsening crisis, not to play politics.
“The handling of the security situation has proven AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to be an incompetent, insensitive, irresponsible, clueless, and unresponsive governor,” Saraki said.
He faulted AbdulRazaq for waiting five days before visiting Oke-Ode after the massacre of 21 residents, noting that the Governor had attended a political event in Imo State instead.
On the Offa robbery, Saraki reiterated that he was cleared of any involvement, citing two 2018 reports by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), which found no evidence linking him directly or indirectly to the incident.
He also accused AbdulRazaq of influencing some relatives of the robbery victims to file a politically motivated case, adding that other families had rejected any attempt to use the tragedy for propaganda.
Saraki concluded that the Governor’s attempt to revive the Offa robbery issue was a calculated distraction from his administration’s failure to address the escalating insecurity in Kwara.
“If this slanderous and ridiculous statement he made at Oke-Ode is his way of diverting attention from his failure to live up to his responsibility as the chief security officer of our dear state, then he has failed,” he said.
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
