Date: 2018-05-18

Saraki says Police IG Idris plotting to 'frame' him

Police reply Saraki, warn him against jeopardising murder investigations Saraki Vs IGP Idris: Kwara police, Force HQ contradict each other on murder 'victims'

The chief registrar of the Kwara State Judiciary on Thursday asked the police to bring back some criminal suspects that were transferred to Abuja on Wednesday.

Police spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood, said the suspects were transferred to Abuja for further investigation in the allegations of murder and criminal conspiracy slammed against them.

But Senate President Bukola Saraki, who is from Kwara State, said the move was part of a grand plot by Inspector General Ibrahim Idris to frame him.

Mr Saraki drew the attention of the nation to the alleged plot at the senate plenary on Wednesday. He subsequently proceeded to the State House with nine either other senators to report Mr Idris to President Muhammadu Buhari.

"Investigation" into the roles of the suspects “has been completed” and they "were about to be under prosecution under the state law on the advice of DPP (Department of Public Prosecution) and the (state) ministry of justice," Mr Saraki said Wednesday. "All of a sudden," he added, the suspects were “ordered to be transferred to Abuja" Wednesday morning.

The police denied trying to frame Mr Saraki in a statement Wednesday night, warning the lawmaker to desist from interfering in an ongoing criminal probe.

Kwara governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, also claimed the police was seeking ways of incriminating the state government, and denied any links to the arrested cultists and thugs.

On Thursday the chief registrar of the Kwara State judiciary wrote to the police command in the state, demanding that the suspects should be brought back.

The registrar confirmed that the police had made entry for the prosecution of the suspects in the state, saying t

"You would recall that on the 15th day of May 2018, your officers brought a First Information Report (F.I.R) containing the following names for the offences of criminal conspiracy, cultism and culpable homicide,” the chief deputy registrar, N.A. Adeyanju, said in a letter to Kwara deputy police commissioner in charge of criminal investigation.

The letter listed the names of the suspects in the FIR as Abolaji Ojulari, Lanre Solihu, Aziz Mayaki and Suleiman Babatunde.

"However, due to the fact that the police prosecutors were withdrawn, we asked your officers to return them and bring them back on 16th day of May 2018. Now that the police prosecutors are available, please make necessary arrangement to bring them back to court for arraignment,” the registrar said.

The names are amongst the six suspects the police said were transferred to Abuja from Ilorin yesterday, save for different spellings of two of the four names.

The registrar did not cite the legal basis for the request or acknowledged that the suspects had been transferred to Abuja as widely reported in the media following Mr Saraki's statement and subsequent police confirmation.

Kwara police spokesperson said he was not aware of the letter, but said the suspects had already been transferred to Abuja and detectives should be allowed to carry out their duties. Mr Moshood, an assistant police commissioner, did not respond to PREMIUM TIMES enquiries about whether the police would yield the court's demand.