By Our Correspondent
Former Vice President and 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has alleged that the detention of former Sokoto State governor and serving senator, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is a politically motivated move orchestrated by the Bola Tinubu-led administration.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, Atiku claimed that the arrest was part of a broader strategy to intimidate and weaken the opposition, while using the anti-corruption fight as a cover to pressure political leaders into defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“It is as though 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 Bola Tinubu, their ‘sins’ are forgiven.
“That, definitely, is not how to build institutions. That, certainly, is not how to fight the monster of corruption. Indeed, such tendencies provide the stimulant for corruption to thrive,” Atiku said.
The former vice president recalled that he was instrumental in establishing the EFCC during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003. He said the agency was conceived as an independent institution to strengthen governance and curb corruption, not as a partisan weapon.
He warned that recent developments — including the EFCC’s actions against opposition figures — risk undermining the credibility of Nigeria’s anti-graft institutions and emboldening corruption.
“Atiku alleged that anti-corruption agencies have in recent times been deployed to coerce political leaders into joining the APC, cautioning that such moves could push Nigeria towards a one-party state.
“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 by all in civil society spaces and friends of Nigeria in the international community.
“We have in recent times witnessed the use of anti-corruption agencies in coercing political leaders into the ruling party. Our assurance to Nigerians is that we would never succumb to these anti-democratic machinations of railroading our people into a one-party dictatorship,” he wrote.
AljazirahNigeria reports that Tambuwal’s arrest comes amid an ongoing EFCC investigation into alleged fraudulent cash withdrawals amounting to N189 billion during his tenure as Sokoto State governor. His detention has sparked heated political debate, with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and other opposition voices accusing the EFCC of selective prosecution.
