Offa Robbery: NGO Demands Proof That Adikwu Is Still Alive

A Non-Governmental Organisation, NGO, Network on Police Reforms in Nigeria, (NOPRIN) has expressed fear over the safety of two suspects, Adikwu and Kayode, who were arrested over the bloody April 5 2018 Offa robbery but were not paraded alongside other suspects by the police.

At a press conference addressed by its National Coordinator, Okechukwu Nwanguma last Wednesday in Lagos, the organisation therefore called on the police to produce the suspects alive in order to have their day in court, to corroborate or rebut the police narrative that it was the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki who provided the weapons which were used during the robbery operation.

According to Nwanguma, “NOPRIN also called on the police to publicly confirm the condition of these suspects and urged the police to produce the two suspects in order to douse the suspicion that they have been eliminated to cover up and to put fear in the other suspects that they would similarly be eliminated if they don’t cooperate by sticking with the police narrative that it was Senate President Saraki who supplied them the weapons. “NOIPRN hereby reiterates its call on the police to clarify the fate and whereabouts of Adikwu in order to douse the suspicion that he may have been executed. “Recalling also that AY, one of the prime suspects said that Adikwu had the money they got from the robbery, the police also need to explain what happened to the money recovered from him.

“NOPRIN is also worried about police’s attitude towards court orders and the rule of law in general. Police should heed the court order that the suspects be arraigned or granted bail. Failure to heed this order may give credence to the suspicion that the police have got something to hide. Disobedience to court orders offends the notion of rule of law which the IGP often flaunts”.

The organisation then reiterated its earlier call on the Nigeria police to “avoid anything that will cast a slur on the integrity and professionalism of police investigation and the dispensation of justice to the accused persons, the victims and the society”.