Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of targeting opposition figures after the arrest of ex-Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal, calling it a “political witch-hunt.”
In a strongly worded statement, Atiku alleged that the detention was part of President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s strategy to “harass, intimidate, and decimate the opposition.”
“The reality unfolding before us today is that the Tinubu administration has objectified the fight against corruption as a political tool to coerce opposition leaders into the ruling party,” Atiku said.
He claimed that anti-graft agencies were being weaponised, stating: “We are living witnesses to a growing trend where the state and its operators have assumed the roles of a bully by making corruption and the fight against it a political agenda.”
Atiku, who helped establish the EFCC during President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, said the agency’s current actions betrayed its original purpose. “It is as though today, anyone who associates with the opposition is a target for phantom corruption allegations,” he said.
He further alleged that once politicians join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), their “sins are forgiven,” adding: “That, definitely, is not how to build institutions. That, certainly, is not how to fight the monster of corruption.”
The former presidential candidate urged civil society and the international community to condemn what he described as the “objectification” of anti-corruption efforts.
“Our assurance to Nigerians is that we would never succumb to this anti-democratic machination of railroading our people into a one-party dictatorship,” Atiku vowed.
The EFCC has not yet commented on Tambuwal’s arrest or Atiku’s allegations.
Senator Tambuwal, a prominent opposition figure and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, served as Sokoto governor from 2015 to 2023. His arrest follows a pattern of high-profile EFCC investigations, which critics claim are politically motivated. The Tinubu administration has previously denied using anti-corruption agencies to target opponents.
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