Offa robbery victims’ families sue Kwara govt, Saraki, Ahmed, seek N2.1bn compensation

The families of victims of the 2018 Offa robbery have filed a lawsuit at the Ilorin High Court, seeking N2.1 billion in compensation from the Kwara State government. The claimants, including Abraham Oluwafemi Makinde, Lateef Taiye Raheem, Adeshina Felemo Ayesanmi, and Monsurat Aramide Adebayo, alleged that their relatives were killed in the April 5, 2018, […]

The families of victims of the 2018 Offa robbery have filed a lawsuit at the Ilorin High Court, seeking N2.1 billion in compensation from the Kwara State government.

The claimants, including Abraham Oluwafemi Makinde, Lateef Taiye Raheem, Adeshina Felemo Ayesanmi, and Monsurat Aramide Adebayo, alleged that their relatives were killed in the April 5, 2018, robbery at the Owode Police Station and several banks in Offa.

Defendants named in the case are the Kwara State governor, the Attorney-General of the state, former Senate President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki and former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed.

According to court filings, the claimants accused the state government of complicity in the attack, alleging that robbery exhibits were hidden at the Government House during Ahmed’s administration. They further claimed the convicted robbers had confessed to being political operatives of Saraki’s political dynasty.

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The claimants referenced confessions by one of the convicts, Ayoade Akinnibosun (alias AY), who allegedly named Saraki and Ahmed as their sponsors, stating they acted as political thugs and disrupted elections when their sponsors did not win.

They argued that these affiliations emboldened the robbers and contributed to the attack’s devastation, which claimed over 35 lives, including police officers and civilians.

Makinde, one of the claimants, identified himself as the husband of Grace, a pregnant police officer killed in the attack. Another claimant, Raheem, said his brother Fatai, the family’s breadwinner, left behind two aged parents, two wives, and five children. Ayesanmi, the eldest son of late ASP Ayesanmi, and Adebayo, the wife of Kaseem, a murdered bank employee, also seek redress.

The families are represented by Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) J.J. Usman, Yakubu Philemon, M.I. Abubakar and A.O.F. Philip. They are demanding N1.5 billion as compensation, N500 million in general damages, and N100 million for legal costs.