The families of victims of the tragic Offa bank robbery have called on Nigerians to disregard persistent claims linking former Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, to the incident, describing the claims as the politicisation of their loss.
The families made this appeal in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
Represented by Abdul Oseni Aditu Eniolohunpa, Mulikat Jimoh, and Danjuma Comfort, the families spoke on Radio TNT in Offa to address renewed debates surrounding the tragedy.
According to Abdul, who lost his 27-year-old son in the robbery, Mulikat, the mother of one of the victims, and Danjuma, the wife of a slain police officer, their loved ones were victims of a criminal attack and appealed for an end to political exploitation of their grief.
Recall that a bank robbery in Offa, on April 5, 2018, saw heavily armed robbers attack several banks and a police station, leaving 33 people dead, including innocent citizens and security personnel.
DAILY POST reports that since then, the incident has remained a subject of political controversy, with some attempting to link it to prominent figures.
The families revealed they had previously been approached by individuals urging them to make public statements implicating Dr Saraki in the attack.
They rejected such attempts, insisting that their loved ones were victims of a violent crime and that it was unjust for anyone to exploit their tragedy for political ends.
The families also expressed disappointment over the lack of support or compensation from the government since the incident, noting that their priority remains justice and healing, not politics.
They appealed to Nigerians to focus on preventing similar tragedies in future rather than fueling political debates.
“Our loved ones would not have wanted their deaths to be used as tools for political manipulation,” they said.
