LAGOS, June 4 (Xinhua) -- President of the Nigerian Senate, Bukola Saraki, have been invited by the police for questioning over alleged criminal indictment by five suspected gang leaders involved in the recent Offa bank robbery in the central north Kwara State.
The suspects confessed and volunteered statements that they were political thugs of Saraki and the state governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, national police spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood said in Abuja, Nigeria's capital.
He spoke on Sunday while briefing newsmen on the update of the recent Offa bank robbery.
Armed robbers attacked five commercial banks and a police station, killing 33 persons including nine policemen and a pregnant woman in Offa on April 5.
Moshood alleged that they also admitted to have been sponsored with firearms, money and operational vehicles by Saraki and Ahmed.
He said millions of naira and 21 AK47 rifles belonging to the police in Offa were admitted to have been carted away during the bank robbery.
Moshood said that the Personal Assistant (Political) to the Kwara Governor, Alabi Olalekan, had also been arrested for concealing information from the police.
The spokesman said 22 suspects involved in the bank robbery were currently in police custody.
He said effort was being intensified to arrest other suspects still at large and all suspects involved would be arraigned in court for prosecution.
He said the police would continue to ensure that the rule of law prevailed in every case under police investigation and offenders were brought to justice.
Meanwhile, Saraki had recently alleged plot by the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris to implicate him in a criminal case.
In a statement made available to Xinhua, Saraki said the plot by the police to link him with the April 5 Offa robbery is meant to embarrass him.
Similarly, the state governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has refuted police allegations of sponsoring, funding, arming or otherwise supporting political thuggery in the state.
The governor described the allegations as false and rejected his alleged indictment by the Nigeria police or the armed robbery suspects in their custody.
