Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of weaponizing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to target opposition leaders, describing the arrest of former Sokoto State Governor, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, as politically motivated.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, Atiku alleged that Tambuwal’s detention by the anti-graft agency was not about corruption but part of a broader strategy to “harass, intimidate, and decimate” members of the opposition coalition.
“The only reason the EFCC has detained Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal is because he is a member of the opposition,” Atiku stated. “It is a continuation of the Tinubu-led administration’s agenda to coerce opposition leaders into the ruling party.”
Atiku, who served as Nigeria’s Vice President from 1999 to 2007, criticised what he described as the objectification of the anti-corruption fight, turning it into a political weapon. He argued that this trend erodes institutional integrity and encourages corruption rather than deterring it.
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“It is as though today, anyone who associates with the opposition is a target for phantom corruption allegations, but once they cross over to the ruling party, their ‘sins’ are forgiven,” he said. “That is not how to build institutions. That is certainly not how to fight the monster of corruption.”
The former Vice President said Nigeria has witnessed “a growing trend where anti-corruption agencies are deployed to force opposition governors and political figures into the ruling party,” warning that the practice undermines democracy and risks creating a de facto one-party state.
While reaffirming his support for a genuine fight against corruption, Atiku urged Nigerians, civil society groups, and the international community to condemn the alleged politicisation of anti-graft agencies.
“Our assurance to Nigerians is that we would never succumb to this anti-democratic machination of railroading our people into a one-party dictatorship,” Atiku declared.