Families of Offa Bank Robbery Victims Appeal for End to Political Exploitation of Tragedy
The families of victims of the 2018 Offa bank robbery have made a heartfelt appeal to Nigerians, urging them to disregard ongoing claims linking former Senate President Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki to the attack.
They condemned the politicisation of their loss, describing it as a painful exploitation of their grief.
In a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, the families represented by Alhaji Abdul Oseni Aditu Eniolohunpa, Hajia Mulikat Jimoh, and Mrs. Danjuma Comfort spoke during a broadcast on Radio TNT in Offa to address the renewed controversy.
Alhaji Abdul, who lost his 27-year-old son in the incident, Hajia Mulikat, mother of another victim, and Mrs. Danjuma, widow of a slain police officer, stressed that their loved ones were innocent victims of a criminal attack and called for an end to the political manipulation of the tragedy.
The Offa bank robbery, which occurred on April 5, 2018, involved heavily armed men attacking multiple banks and a police station, resulting in the deaths of 33 people, including civilians and security operatives.
Since then, the incident has remained a subject of political controversy, with some attempting to link it to prominent figures.
The families revealed they had previously been approached by individuals urging them to make public statements implicating Dr Saraki in the attack.
They rejected such attempts, insisting that their loved ones were victims of a violent crime and that it was unjust for anyone to exploit their tragedy for political ends.
The families also expressed disappointment over the lack of support or compensation from the government since the incident, noting that their priority remains justice and healing, not politics.
They appealed to Nigerians to focus on preventing similar tragedies in future rather than fuelling political debates.
"Our loved ones would not have wanted their deaths to be used as tools for political manipulation," they said, calling on the public to honour the memory of the victims by refusing to allow their pain to be turned into a political weapon.
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