By Muhammad B. Muhammad
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the President Bola Tinubu-led administration of using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as a political tool to harass and intimidate opposition leaders.
In a statement on Tuesday, Atiku alleged that the detention of former Sokoto State Governor, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, by the EFCC was solely because of his membership in the opposition coalition.
He claimed the current administration had turned the anti-graft fight into a weapon for coercing opposition figures into joining the ruling party, describing it as “a growing trend where the state and its operators have assumed the roles of a bully.”
“At times, it appears that anyone associated with the opposition is targeted with phantom corruption allegations, only for such charges to disappear once they align with the political agenda of President Tinubu,” Atiku said.
The former Vice President argued that such practices undermine the objectives for which the EFCC was created during his tenure in government, warning that they could encourage corruption to flourish rather than curb it.
“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 called on Nigerians, civil society organisations, and the international community to condemn what he described as “the objectification of the fight against corruption as a political agenda.”
He further vowed that the opposition would resist any attempts to railroad the country into a one-party state, stressing that the genuine fight against corruption required the support of all Nigerians and must be free of political manipulation.
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