Atiku Accuses Tinubu Administration of Using EFCC to Intimidate Opposition

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly condemned what he describes as a growing trend of political intimidation by the Tinubu-led administration, accusing it of weaponizing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against opposition leaders.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Atiku claimed that the recent detention of former Sokoto State Governor and Senator, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, by the EFCC is politically motivated and part of a broader agenda to weaken 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,” Atiku stated. “It is a continuation of the Tinubu-led administration’s agenda to harass, intimidate, and decimate the opposition.”

Atiku, who served as Vice President from 1999 to 2007, expressed concern over what he termed the objectification of anti-corruption efforts as a political weapon, arguing that such practices erode institutional integrity and embolden corruption.

“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 the political agenda of President Tinubu, their ‘sins’ are forgiven,” he added.

“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.”

Citing what he described as a pattern of opposition governors being pressured into joining the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku warned that the actions of the EFCC could undermine Nigeria’s democracy and push the country towards a one-party state.

“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,” he declared.