The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has chided some political actors in Kwara State, especially Senate President Bukola Saraki for attempting to trivialise the April 5, 2018 robbery attack in Offa that left 33 people dead.

Mohammed said claims of compensating the victims in monetary terms cannot equate the lives lost in the incident.

The Minister, who made the remarks in Offa, Kwara State, on Saturday at the 2018 Ijakadi Festival, described the efforts to trivialise the dastardly act as indecent and called on the people to condemn any attempt to play politics with human lives.

Senate President Saraki said on a radio programme that he gave N10 million to the Offa monarch, as against the N7million stolen by the Offa robbers, some of whom were linked with him

Lai Mohammed hammered him for the reckless statement.

“In recent days, there have been attempts by some political desperadoes to trivialise the calamity that befell this community when those armed robbers attacked banks and the police station, among others. These desperadoes were quoted as saying that when they visited this town to commiserate with the people after the attack, they donated 10 million Naira, even when what was stolen from the banks’ vault was 7 million Naira.

”Now, let us ask them: How many of those who were killed in that attack have they also been able to bring back? How can any sane person equate human life with money? No amount of money is worth any human life. And no one should play politics with human life. All people of conscience must condemn this glib comment by a desperate political warlord,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed commended the resilience of the people of Offa for organising such an elaborate festival, despite the calamity that befell their community this year, saying it is not surprising because Ijakadi festival itself is a celebration of the Offa virtues of strength and determination, as well as equity, justice and wisdom.

He expressed delight that the people of Offa have resolved that never again will any armed robber, hoodlum or brigand shed the blood of any innocent person in the town by raising 700 million Naira to build an ultra modern Mobile Police Force Barracks in the community.

The Minister said in keeping with the mandate of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture to develop and promote national festivals, a manager of the Ijakadi Festival has been nominated to attend a training on festival management in Ghana. (NAN)

•The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhajii Lai Mohammed (middle); the Olofa of Offa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi (right) and the outgoing President of the Offa Descendants Union, Alhaji Najeed Yasin (left), at the 2018 Ijakadi Festival in Offa, Kwara State, on Saturday.

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