Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly condemned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) detention of former Sokoto State Governor, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, accusing the Tinubu-led administration of politicizing the fight against corruption.
In a statement, Atiku alleged that the EFCC’s actions are part of a broader plot to intimidate and coerce opposition figures into the ruling party and warned that this trend undermines the fight against corruption and threatens Nigeria’s democracy.
Atiku expressed concern that the EFCC’s actions are being used to empty opposition state governors into the ruling party, and vowed that his party would resist this attempt to railroad opposition leaders into the ruling party.
He called on civil society and the international community to condemn the politicization of anti-corruption efforts.
Atiku 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 harrass, intimidate, and decimate the opposition.
“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.
“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.
“Certainly, that is not the objective for which I worked hard during our administration to create the EFCC.
“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 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.
“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.
“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 this anti-democratic machinations of railroading our people into a one-party dictatorship”.
The Former Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, is being held in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged fraudulent cash withdrawals totalling N189 billion.
The withdrawals are said to contravene the Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Tambuwal reportedly arrived at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja around 11:30 a.m. on Monday, where he is being interrogated by investigators.
A senior EFCC source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the former governor is facing questions over suspicious transactions during his tenure, involving alleged unauthorised withdrawals of public funds.
“The withdrawals are in clear violation of the Money Laundering Act,” the source said, adding that the investigation has been ongoing for months.
EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, declined to comment until the interrogation is concluded.
Tambuwal, a senior figure in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), served as governor from 2015 to 2023 and was previously Speaker of the House of Representatives.
