Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has alleged that the detention of former Sokoto State governor, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is part of a broader plan by the Bola Tinubu administration to “harass, intimidate, and decimate” the opposition.
By Chimezie Godfrey
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has alleged that the detention of former Sokoto State governor, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is part of a broader plan by the Bola Tinubu administration to “harass, intimidate, and decimate” the opposition.
In a statement yesterday, Atiku said the EFCC’s action against Tambuwal was politically motivated and aimed at coercing opposition leaders into joining the ruling party.
“The reality unfolding before us today is that the Tinubu administration has objectified the fight against corruption as a political tool to coerce opposition leaders into the ruling party,” Atiku said.
According to him, recent trends show that anti-graft agencies have been used to target members of the opposition with what he described as “phantom corruption allegations,” which are dropped once they join the ruling party.
“It is as though anyone who associates with the opposition is a target… and as soon as they are coerced into the political agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, their ‘sins’ are forgiven,” he said.
The former vice president, who played a role in the establishment of the EFCC during his tenure from 1999 to 2007, said such use of the agency undermines its mandate and encourages corruption.
“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,” he added.
Atiku urged civil society organisations and the international community to condemn what he described as the “objectification” of the anti-corruption campaign for political purposes, insisting that the opposition would not “succumb to anti-democratic machinations of railroading our people into a one-party dictatorship.”
The EFCC has yet to respond to the allegations.