Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of derailing from its core mandate and transforming into what he described as a political weapon against opposition figures.
In a statement issued by his media office in Abuja on Thursday, Atiku said the nation’s anti-corruption campaign is “mutating into a full-blown political witch-hunt,” warning that the EFCC risks losing public trust unless it detaches itself from partisan interference.
Atiku criticised the recent arrest and detention of former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), alleging that the anti-graft agency has become selective in its investigations. He said the EFCC now appears more interested in targeting perceived opponents of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) than in pursuing justice.
“The politicisation of corruption investigations has rendered the EFCC’s credibility suspect and rubbished the very ideals that inspired its establishment,” he said.
The former vice president claimed that the EFCC had intensified actions against opposition elements, including Malami and former Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, while ignoring corruption allegations involving allies of the ruling party.
He cited the appointment of former governors with pending corruption cases into ministerial and ambassadorial positions as an example of what he called “partisan loyalty prevailing over integrity.”
Atiku argued that had Malami defected to the APC, “the EFCC would have left him untouched, even if he had looted the entire CBN vault.”
He further accused the agency of being used to intimidate politicians into joining the ruling party, alleging that corruption cases “mysteriously vanish” once they do so.
He described the EFCC as “a political rottweiler,” warning that no nation can effectively fight corruption if its anti-graft institutions sacrifice independence for political convenience.
Atiku urged the EFCC leadership to reclaim its neutrality, saying the credibility of Nigeria’s anti-corruption framework depends on it.
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