Atiku, ADC allege political witch-hunt as EFCC defends investigations
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says its mandate is non-partisan, following allegations by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) that it is being used to intimidate opposition leaders.
Atiku and the ADC accused the agency of revisiting old corruption cases against key opposition politicians as part of a plan to weaken the coalition challenging President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
Atiku described the detention of Aminu Tambuwal, former governor of Sokoto, as part of an agenda to “harass, intimidate and decimate the opposition”.
He alleged that the EFCC is being deployed as a political tool to coerce opposition figures into joining the ruling party.
The ADC, in a separate statement, criticised the EFCC for what it called “choreographed media trials” targeting its leaders, including David Mark, Emeka Ihedioha, and Tambuwal, while ignoring ruling party members with “fresher and well-documented cases”.
The party claimed the agency’s actions amount to selective justice and an assault on political freedom.
Responding on Tuesday, Ola Olukoyede, EFCC chairman, said the agency investigates politically exposed persons “from every divide” and should not be condemned for probing opposition figures.
Spokesperson Dele Oyewale said in a statement that the ADC’s attack was “a rude shock and unwarranted blame game”, insisting that the commission’s actions are “circumspect and dispassionate”.
He said corruption allegations have no statute of limitations and that both former and serving governors and ministers from the ruling party are also under investigation.
“The immunity against any investigation by the EFCC is accountability and probity. Fraud is fraud. Corruption is corruption. There is no sacred cow,” Oyewale said.
The ADC questioned why the EFCC suddenly found “urgent” reasons to investigate Ihedioha five years after his brief tenure as Imo governor and Mark 10 years after leaving the Senate presidency.
It accused the ruling party of using the EFCC to weaken credible opposition voices ahead of the 2027 elections.
“The APC’s EFCC does not touch its own while they are in office or when they defect to the ruling party. Once a former governor crosses over, their files vanish like morning dew,” the party said.
It urged Nigerians to speak out against what it called “witch-hunting” and warned that “today it is David Mark, Ihedioha, and Tambuwal; tomorrow, it could be anyone who dares to hold this government accountable”.
