Offa robbery controversy: Youths stage peaceful rally in support of Saraki

The placard-carrying youths moved from Omoda Roundabout and stopped at the Emir of Ilorin Forecourt.

Some of the placards read: “Ilorin Emirate says no to political blackmail.’’ “We stand firmly with Bukola Saraki.’’ ‘‘Stop political persecution of our leader.’”

Read Also: Fed govt targets expanded PPP pipeline to drive growth, close power metering gap

The youths claimed that the revisit of Offa robbery saga was not about justice, but politically-motivated.

Addressing the crowd, Kwara State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Youth Leader, Adio Odunjo, said: “A tragedy that brought pains and tears to families in Offa is now being dragged back into public discourse not for justice, not for closure, but for political propaganda aimed at blackmailing one man: the Waziri of Ilorin, our leader.

“We call on him to immediately retract this politically- motivated narrative and put an end to actions capable of heating up the polity and reopening wounds that families and residents are still striving to heal from.

“Today, we stand together not as troublemakers, not as agents of division, but as conscious, responsible youths and concerned residents of Ilorin Emirate, alongside committed members of the PDP who believe in truth, justice and the dignity of our people. We are here because we refuse to be silent in the face of a dangerous political trend in our state.

“Why is a matter that has been investigated, reviewed and concluded through due legal processes suddenly being resurrected?”

Odunjo added: “When a government abandons facts and begins to rely on threats, when it replaces performance with propaganda, when it chooses to recycle old pain instead of solving present problems, then that government is not leading, it is struggling to survive.”