As the controversy over the ownership of N310 million allegedly stolen from the Maitama home of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki gathers storm, the Department of State Service, DSS, yesterday cleared him of any culpability. The DSS said the cash did not belong to Saraki or any member of the National Assembly and accused its dismissed staff,
who is now standing trial for armed robbery, Abdulrasheed Maigari, of trying to fabricate a lie for a hidden motive. Bukola saraki It will be recalled that Maigari, a former DSS operative, had said that he and others connived to steal the huge cash from the Senate President’s home when they were working as security operatives in his house. But a top DSS source told Vanguard last night that the facts emanating from its investigations did not support the claims by Maigari and should be ignored. The DSS said, “The story making the rounds that the N310 million belonging to the Senate President was stolen in 2015 is a malicious falsehood. From our investigation, the money in question did not belong to the senate President or any member of the National Assembly for that matter. ”The investigation conducted by the DSS and the confessional statement made by Abdulrasheed Maigari, a suspect in the case, did not support this claim at all. ”Maigari’s recent claim in the media is nothing but a made up story to achieve a hidden motive. The fact that Maigari, who is currently standing trial for an armed robbery case, could make up such a false claim is a further indication of how criminally minded he is.” Apparently to prove his innocence in the matter, Saraki had earlier in the day distanced himself from the said money, claiming that the money was not stolen from his house but from a bureau de change. The Senate President in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Sani Onogu, said he did not have military personnel among his security details, describing the story as an ”April fool stuff.” The statement said, “The attention of the Media Of
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has petitioned Ms. Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions, urging her to “prevail on the Nigerian authorities to halt further killings of innocent citizens in Southern Kaduna.” The group also demanded investigation into recent alleged killing of over 800 citizens, mostly women, children and the elderly in that part of the country by suspected herdsmen, and to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice, and to provide reparations to victims. The organization also asked Ms. Callamard to “request to visit Nigeria to conduct fact-finding mission into the circumstances surrounding the killings.” In the petition dated 30th December, 2016 and signed by SERAP executive director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organization expressed “concern that the killings of citizens in Southern Kaduna of Nigeria amount to serious violations of the rights to life; to security of the human person; to ...

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