Atiku: EFCC probe of Tambuwal tied to his membership of opposition coalition

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of detaining Aminu Tambuwal, former governor of Sokoto, because he is a member of the opposition coalition.

In a post on X on Monday, Abubakar alleged that the President Bola Tinubu administration is using a politicised anti-graft agency to coerce opposition figures into defecting to the ruling party.

Tambuwal, who represents Sokoto south in the senate, was quizzed by the EFCC on Monday.

The former governor was said to have withdrawn N189 billion in cash in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.

Abubakar also alleged that the EFCC’s tactic has forced opposition governors to join the ruling party.

“The only reason the EFCC has detained the former governor of Sokoto State, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, is that he is a member of the opposition coalition,” the post reads.

“It is a continuation of the Tinubu-led administration’s agenda to harass, 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 role 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 when we created the EFCC.

“It is as though today anyone who associates with the opposition is a target for phantom corruption allegations and, as soon as they are coerced into President Bola Tinubu’s political agenda, their ‘sins’ are forgiven.

“That is definitely not how to build institutions, that is certainly not how to fight the monster of corruption, indeed, such tendencies create the conditions in which corruption can thrive.

“We have seen how the EFCC has been used to compel opposition state governors to join the ruling party, and the tea party is not about to end anytime soon.”

Abubakar urged civil society and the international community to condemn the use of anti-corruption agencies for political ends.

The former vice-president also assured that there will be resistance to attempts to impose a one-party state through coercion.