•I’ll respond –Senate president •Offa community, youths, others protest, alleged harassment

Fred Itua, Abuja; Layi  Olanrewaju, Ilorin

Twenty four hours after the police invited the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, to respond to allegations that one of the suspects was allegedly his thug, it has made a U-turn.

Instead, it has asked Saraki to respond in writing to the allegations within 48 hours.
Saraki who made the revelation on his official Facebook and Twitter handles, said he would respond to the allegations.

“Following my earlier tweet, I have received the letter from @PoliceNG. They are no longer asking me to appear at any station, but to respond in writing to the allegations within 48 hours — which I plan to do.”

Saraki, had in an earlier post, revealed that he instructed his aide-de-camp to secure the letter of invitation from the Force Headquarters. In the post, he  reiterated that he will honour the invitation.

“I have just informed my ADC to get the letter of invitation from @PoliceNG in respect of the allegations raised yesterday — so that I can immediately honour the alleged initation,” he had posted.
Following the invitation by the Force on Sunday, Saraki released a statement, where he described his perceived intimidation as a threat to democracy.

Saraki in the statement, also claimed that the allegations raised against him were concocted. He called on the public to disregard the allegations.

Saraki had on Wednesday, May 16, raised the alarm over an alleged plot by IGP Idris to implicate him and Governor Ahmed following the transfer of the suspects from Kwara State to Abuja.
Notwithstanding Saraki’s vow to meet the police 48-hour ultimatum, there was a protest by the people of Offa yesterday.

A coalition of Kwara youths under the umbrella of Kwara Agenda asked the Federal Government and the Police to stop politicising the incident. Also, elders of Ajikobi Central Ward in the Ilorin West Local Government Area, where Saraki hails from, said they received with shock the invitation of the Senate president by the police.

Chief Bayo Akinola, who addressed newsmen in Offa on behalf of Olofa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi Esuwoye II, said the community had left “what has happened to God, but we don’t want the innocent to be punished. We want police to go after the real culprits.”

Akinola’s view was corroborated by the national General Secretary of Offa Descendants Union (ODU), Chief Atinuke Wosilat McCarty.

The elders of Ajikobi Central, in a statement signed by Alhaji Salihu AbdulWahab Agbaji, said it was illogical and unthinkable that the Senate president and the political leader of the state would ask bandits to kill the citizens that he leads.

This came as members of the coalition of Kwara youths during a peaceful protest from the hinterland of Ilorin metropolis to the Press Centre of the NUJ in GRA.

The coordinator, Kwara Agenda, Haruna Yakub Kannike, said the group was surprised by police invitation of Saraki.