Former Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki is expected at the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigeria Police in Lagos on Monday (today) following allegations of an N11bn loan scam preferred against him.

Saraki was invited by the SFU to appear before the unit on Friday but pleaded for an extension of time till Monday on the grounds that he had to attend a funeral of a relation.

In a statement by the spokesperson for the SFU, Ngozi Isintume, a group of companies - Joy Petroleum Limited, Skyview Properties Ltd, Dicetrade, and Limkers Nigeria Ltd - were given loans by the bank under the management of Mr. Erastus Akingbola.

 The said loans were allegedly promoted by Saraki between 2004 and 2009 when he was a governor.

The SFU noted that the loans/facilities were used to purchase shares of blue chip companies and choice landed properties in Lagos and Abuja, some of which were used to secure the loans.

However, Akingbola's successor after a shake up by the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Mahmood Alabi, allegedly granted a waiver of N9.97bn, representing about 82 per cent of N11.97bn indebtedness.

Also, the landed properties worth billions of naira used to secure the loans were curiously released after payment of only N2.3bn out of the N11.97bn jointly owed the bank by the companies.

Last week, Alabi was arrested by the SFU and interrogated but was subsequently released on bail.

The Commissioner of Police, SFU, Mr. Tunde Ogunsakin, told our correspondent on the telephone on Sunday that Saraki had promised to report on Monday.

"We are expecting Saraki on Monday (today)," he said.

Ogunsakin, however, denied reports that the current Kwara State governor, Mr. Abdulfatai Ahmed, who was Commissioner for Finance when Saraki obtained the loans, would be invited to the SFU.