By Pascal Ibe
WhatsApp users have posted a video showing the parade of suspects and claimed that Nigeria’s Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, has been sentenced to death by hanging.
Shared on many WhatsApp groups, the users said this was a result of his alleged involvement in the Offa Bank robbery, which occurred in 2018.
The claim stated, “Breaking: Court sentencesbfor Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki to death by hanging Over Offa Bank robbery This is PDP’s Saraki here ooo.
In the 6-minute video, the suspects were making confessional statements on how they killed over 33 persons.
Background
According to a Wikipedia account, the Offa Bank Robbery attack was a robbery that led to the death of 33 people. The robbery was carried out in four commercial banks on April 4, 2018, at Offa local government area of Kwara State, Nigeria.
According to the Commissioner of Police, Kwara State Command, 9 police officers were killed in the attack and the robbery lasted for one hour. The armed robbers used dynamite in the attack.
The leader of the robbery gang is Ayoade Akinnibosun. He is the chairman of the Liberation Youth Movement, Kwara State. He studied Guidance and Counselling at Ekiti State University.
Vanguard Newspaper reported that he confessed that he works for Bukola Saraki, the president of the Senate of Nigeria, and Ahmed Abdulfatai, the governor of Kwara State.
Verification
A report by Premium Times on 26 September stated that only five suspects were sentenced to death by hanging.
In the report, the court convicted Ayoade Akinnibosun, Azeez Salahudeen, Niyi Ogundiran, Ibikunle Ogunleye, and Adeola Abraham.
Delivering judgment, Justice Haleema Saliman held that the five defendants were found guilty of conspiracy, armed robbery, culpable homicide, and illegal possession of firearms.
Justice Saliman said that the defendants caused the death of people, including police officers and civilians during the April 2018 armed robbery in Offa, which is punishable by death.
See other news publications that corroborated this report Here and Here.
No credible news organization in Nigeria reported that Mr Saraki was also sentenced to death.
Verdict
The claim that Bukola Saraki has been sentenced to death for his involvement in the Offa Bank robbery is FALSE.
