7-year after Offa robbery, victims sue Kwara govt, demand N2.1b compensation

Families of the victims of the 2018 Offa robbery are seeking N2.1 billion in compensation from the Kwara state government.

In the suit instituted before a high court in Ilorin, the claimants submitted that their “relatives were killed by armed men in a robbery attack on the Nigeria Police Station, Owode, and various banks in Offa on April 5, 2018”.

They accused the state government of being complicit in the robbery, alleging that several exhibits used in the robbery were spotted in the government house during the tenure of Abdulfatah Ahmed, former governor of Kwara.

The claimants further alleged that the convicted robbers had confessed to being members of a political group associated with Bukola Saraki, a former president of the senate.

They claimed that the exhibits recovered from the crime scene and presented in court included vehicles branded ‘Saraki’.

The claimants further averred that one of the suspects — Ayoade Akinnibosun (aka AY) now convicted of the crime — confessed that the third (Saraki) and fourth (Ahmed) defendants are their political sponsors and that they make ‘dabaru’ arrangements and “scatter elections” if they do not win.

The claimants aver that the convicts confessed that they had been political thugs to the third and fourth defendants and that was what encouraged them to do what they did.

The claimants said they deserve to be compensated for the killing of their relatives, many of whom are breadwinners of their families.

They are seeking the order of the court compelling the defendants to pay N1.5 billion as compensation, N500 million as general damages, and N100 million as cost of the suit.

The writ was issued by the counsels, including Johnson Usman (SAN), Yakubu Philemon (SAN), M. Abubakar (SAN), and A. Philip (SAN).

The complainants, who sued for themselves and their families, are Abraham Makinde, Lateef Raheem, Adeshina Ayesanmi and Monsurat Adebayo.

The defendants are the governor of Kwara state, the attorney-general of the state, Saraki and Ahmed.