It was heart-rending last week in Abuja when the Nigeria Police paraded suspected kingpins of the April 5 Offa robbery incident in which at least 33 Nigerians were mowed down.
At the doleful ceremony, Police spokesperson, Moshood Jimoh, narrated how the masterminds of the robbery linked both the Senate President and the Kwara State Government to the hideous crime he said they had confessed to carrying out.
He told of how the operational vehicle used in the robbery was traced to government establishments in the state.
According to Mr Jimoh, the bandits “admitted, confessed and volunteered statements that they were political thugs of the Senate President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Sen. Bukola Saraki and the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Alh. Abdulfatah Ahmed.
“A Lexus jeep GX-300 (Ash Colour) with a sticker plate number with inscription “SARAKI” “Kwara, State of Harmony” used by the gang leader (Ayoade Akinnibosun, during the bank robbery and the killing of the 33 innocent persons was taken to Government House, Ilorin on 16th May, 2018 where the sticker plate number with inscription ‘SARAKI’ ‘Kwara, State of Harmony’ was removed before another plate number (Reg. No. Kwara, KMA 143 RM) registered in the name of Ayoade AKinnibosun, the overall commander of the Offa bank robbery was then attached to the vehicle to cover up the identity of the said vehicle.
“The exhibit vehicle was subsequently recovered from the premises of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in Ilorin, Kwara State while the sticker plate number with inscription ‘SARAKI’ ‘Kwara, State of Harmony’ removed from the vehicle was recovered from one Adeola Omiyale, who drove the said Lexus Jeep to Government House, Ilorin immediately after the bank robbery.”
Wikipedia described Edward J. “Eddie” Adams, who died in 1921 at the age of 34, as a notorious American criminal and serial killer in the Midwest because he murdered seven people, including three policemen, over a period of 14 months.
One wonders how the virtual repository of information would have referenced Akinnibosun who led an operation in which 33 people were callously murdered. Is that the kind of company Nigeria’s Number Three citizen keeps? It is damning that the same Akinnibosun, it later emerged, joined the delegation of Mr Saraki on a sympathy visit to the bereaved people of Offa, in probably one of the most wicked mockeries in history.
There is no evidence so far that the Senate President or the Kwara State Governor had foreknowledge of the heinous crime.
However, both political office holders have a duty to extricate themselves from the damning evidence of accessory after the fact. We believe Nigeria’s judicial institution is formidable enough to deal with that.
Yet, it is sad and disheartening that any linkage has been established between a band of hardened criminals and the occupier of the highest office in an arm of the federal government, in this case, Senator Saraki.
That he is associated at all with suspects in a crime so dastardly means the Senate President has desecrated his office and betrayed the confidence of Nigerians.
Imagine for a moment the third highest ranking official in the United States, Speaker Paul Ryan, being linked to such a crime. He would have tendered his resignation even before the ink dried on media reports of the accusation.
The least that should be asked of the Senate President now is a belated resignation from office, followed by swift steps to establish his innocence.
Why would a refined gentleman, trained medical doctor, former two-term state governor and current third in the order of succession to the leadership of the most populous country in Africa think he needs hooligans to advance his political interests?
This is a blot on his character that Mr Saraki must remove, if sincere in his plea of innocence.
For years, Nigerians have been concerned about the maiming and killings which characterised every electoral cycle. Until now, people have pointed fingers at politicians here and there without evidence to substantiate their accusations.
To be sure, neither the suspects nor the sponsors they alleged have been convicted of the heinous crime. But the narrative by Akinnibosun about the unlawful assignments he and his group carried out on behalf of their principals is scary and alarming enough to bother every Nigerian.
We call on Dr. Saraki and other political gladiators to learn lessons from this unflattering episode.
No matter how polished they may look or the office they may hold, a criminal is a lethal threat to society and should be exorcised from it.
Any Nigerian politician who has armed hoodlums for political reasons must know that the criminal elements will extend the licence to commit heinous crimes.
Politicians, individually and collectively, must say no to the unbridled hooliganism in Nigerian politics.
Waziri Ibrahim, the wealthy Kanuri businessman cum politician from Borno State, is long gone but Nigerians still have fond memories of his advocacy of politics without bitterness or violence.
Martin Luther King is treasured more in history than most of his contemporaries in the struggle for black emancipation because of his non-violent approach.
As a politician, you may win an election with hoodlums but you will surely lose your place in history among noble men.
We urge all men of honour and integrity in Nigerian politics to permanently terminate any and all links with violence and hooliganism for the sake of our fragile democracy and the security of our nation