Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of weaponizing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to target members of the opposition, describing the detention of former Sokoto State Governor, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, as politically motivated.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Atiku alleged that Tambuwal’s arrest was not about fighting corruption but part of a broader agenda to weaken and intimidate political rivals.
“The only reason the @officialEFCC has detained the former Governor of Sokoto State, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, @AWTambuwal, is because he is a member of the opposition Coalition.
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“It is a continuation of the Tinubu-led administration’s agenda to harrass, intimidate, and decimate the opposition,” Atiku said.
He claimed that the anti-graft agency, which he helped establish during his time in office, had been turned into a political weapon rather than an independent body fighting corruption.
“The reality unfolding before us today is that the Tinubu administration, as with other aspects, has objectified the fight against corruption as a political tool to coerce opposition leaders into the ruling party,” he stated.
“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 lamented that corruption allegations seem to vanish once targeted politicians align with the ruling party.
“It is as though today, anyone who associates with the opposition is a target for phantom corruption allegations and, it is as though, as soon as they are coerced into the political agenda of President @officialABAT, their ‘sins’ are forgiven,” he said.
“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.”
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain who has associated himself with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) also alleged that the EFCC has been systematically used to pressure opposition governors into defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“We have seen how the EFCC has been used to empty opposition state governors into the ruling party, and the tea party is not about to end anytime soon,” Atiku noted.He called on Nigerians, civil society organisations, and the international community to resist what he described as anti-democratic tactics.
“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,” he said.
Atiku concluded by reaffirming his party’s stance against what he termed a creeping one-party dictatorship.
“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 this anti-democratic machinations of railroading our people into a one-party dictatorship,” he declared.
 to target members of the opposition, describing the detention of former Sokoto State Governor, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, as politically motivated.){kind=link}