At Wednesday’s proceedings, prosecution counsel, R.O. Balogun, urged the court to issue a bench warrant against Saraki for failing to appear for arraignment.
The Kwara State High Court has fixed July 3, 2026, for the hearing of a preliminary objection and the arraignment of former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, in a criminal defamation case filed by the Kwara State Government over comments he allegedly made against Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
The case comes weeks after Saraki publicly accused the state government of pursuing a political agenda through its decision to revive issues surrounding the 2018 Offa robbery case, insisting that previous federal legal advice had found no evidence linking him to the crime.
The criminal charge, filed by the Kwara State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Senior Ibrahim Sulyman, alongside Director of Public Prosecutions Ayoola Idowu Akande and Assistant Chief State Counsel B.L. Abdulsalam, accuses Saraki of making defamatory statements against Governor AbdulRazaq.
According to the charge sheet, Saraki allegedly published and circulated a statement on April 17, 2026, through social media platforms, including Facebook and X, as well as newspapers, claiming that the governor lacked the required secondary school educational qualification.
