The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared that it had been non-partisan in its approach to tackling graft.
The agency stated this on Tuesday, August 12, while reacting to allegations of bias levelled against it by the African Democratic Congress (ADC), former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and other opposition parties,
Recall that Abubakar had alleged that the EFCC was a political tool in the hands of President Bola Tinubu’s government for intimidating and decimating opposition parties.
Abubakar said this while reacting to the detention of former Sokoto State Governor and current senator, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, by the EFCC.
The Intercept reported that the EFCC arrested Tambuwal over alleged fraudulent cash withdrawals totaling N189 billion.
The withdrawals were said to violate the Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Tambuwal reportedly arrived at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja around 11:30 a.m. on Monday, August 11, to be interrogated by investigators.
A member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Tambuwal served as governor from 2015 to 2023 and was previously the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
He is also seen as a key member of the coalition ADC led by Atiku and others.
Abubakar, while reacting to Tambuwal’s arrest on his X handle, claimed the move was part of a bigger agenda to “harass, intimidate, and decimate” members of the opposition coalition.
“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,” Abubakar said.
“It is a continuation of the Tinubu-led administration’s agenda to intimidate the opposition,” he added.
He further claimed that the EFCC had become a political tool to coerce opposition members into the ruling party, stressing that those who resisted were targeted with corruption allegations.
“Today, anyone who associates with the opposition is a target for phantom corruption allegations. As soon as they are coerced into the political agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, their ‘sins’ are forgiven,” he further claimed.
