The African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Tuesday accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of singling out opposition figures for politically motivated investigations. It alleged that the agency’s latest target is its Interim National Chairman and former Senate President, David Mark.
The ADC, in a statement by its acting National Publicity Secretary, Bola Abdullahi, said the EFCC had embarked on a “choreographed media trial” against coalition leaders after the detention of former Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, on Monday and the invitation of former Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha.
“The EFCC has now surreptitiously started excavating all the files from David Mark’s tenure as Senate President, 10 years after he left office,” Abdullahi said. He questioned the timing of the investigations. “The pattern of ignoring APC stalwarts with fresher and well-documented cases, while targeting opposition figures with stale allegations, is proof of selective justice and an assault on political freedom.”
The party alleged that the crackdown was part of the ruling All Progressives Congress’ strategy to intimidate and weaken the opposition coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The ADC urged Nigerians to demand an end to what it described as “witch-hunt disguised as anti-corruption.”
“Following our earlier release on Monday, we wish to bring to the public’s attention fresh details that expose the extent of this coordinated assault on the opposition. The detention of one of our leaders, former Sokoto State Governor, Senator Aminu Tambuwal, has marked the start of the crackdown intended to intimidate key leaders of the opposition and discredit them through media trials.
“Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha served as Governor of Imo State for just seven months, from May 29, 2019, until the Supreme Court removed him on January 14, 2020 — a full five years and seven months ago. We, therefore, wonder what makes investigating him suddenly urgent now,” he said.
Abdullahi accused the EFCC of selective justice and an assault on political freedom. He said, “Having failed to stop the coalition, the jittery ruling party’s next move is to discredit its leaders by getting the EFCC to accuse them of looting the entire treasuries. These are calculated media trials; it matters little whether there is a basis for these accusations — the game is the circus show.”
Also, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar accused President Bola Tinubu of “objectifying the fight against corruption as a political tool to coerce opposition leaders into the ruling party.”
Atiku, in a statement on his verified Facebook page on Tuesday, said, “The only reason the EFCC has detained the former Governor of Sokoto State, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, is because he is a member of the opposition coalition. It is a continuation of the Tinubu-led administration’s agenda to harass, intimidate, and decimate the opposition.”
Atiku accused Tinubu of abuse of power. He said, “It is as though today, anyone who associates with the opposition is a target for phantom corruption allegations, and as soon as they are coerced into the political agenda of President Tinubu, their ‘sins’ are forgiven. That is not how to fight the monster of corruption. Indeed, such tendencies provide the stimulant for corruption to thrive. While the genuine fight against corruption is a matter that requires the total support of all Nigerians, the objectification of it as a political agenda should be roundly condemned.”
Similarly, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria critised the move against opposition politicians, describing the EFCC as “an obedient lapdog deployed to do the dirty political work of the ruling All Progressives Congress.”
HURIWA National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement on Tuesday, said the move was intended to “break the spine of the opposition before the 2027 race.”
“Every discerning Nigerian can see the handwriting on the wall. The EFCC is no longer the fearless watchdog envisioned by law,” Onwubiko said.
However, the EFCC dismissed the accusations as “self-serving, diversionary, narrow and idle.”
