EFCC hits back at Atiku, ADC over Tambuwal’s arrest: ‘No Sacred Cows!’

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has firmly rejected accusations of political bias from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, following the detention of Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, a prominent ADC-aligned opposition figure.

EFCC’s Chairman Ola Olukoyede defended the agency’s non-partisan mandate, stating, “If I am not condemned for investigating both former and serving strong ruling party Governors and Ministers, I should not be condemned for also investigating opposition figures.”

The controversy erupted after Tambuwal, a former Sokoto State governor and key member of an opposition coalition, was detained on August 11, 2025, over allegations of fraudulent cash withdrawals totaling ₦189 billion, in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022.

The ADC labeled the EFCC’s actions as “politically motivated,” claiming, “Opposition Coalition have received EFCC summons that are clearly politically motivated. These are not fresh cases arising from new evidence but new files opened in reaction to emergent political affiliations to intimidate key opposition figures.”

Atiku echoed this sentiment, alleging that the Tinubu-led administration is using the EFCC to “harass, intimidate, and decimate the opposition,” turning anti-corruption efforts into a political weapon.

Olukoyede dismissed the ADC’s accusations as “self-serving, diversionary, narrow, and idle,” asserting that “every corruption allegation deserves to be investigated and there is no constraint of time and season in criminal investigations.”

He emphasized the EFCC’s impartiality, noting, “Available records in our courts showed that several political figures of all divide are answering charges of alleged economic and financial crimes,” including ruling party members and serving state governors.

The chairman added that the agency “will not be blackmailed into making full disclosures of its discreet investigations of any state or non-state actor, no matter the provocation.”

Atiku, a staunch supporter of Tambuwal, warned that such actions risk turning Nigeria into a “one-party dictatorship,” citing a pattern where opposition figures face scrutiny only to have their cases dropped upon joining the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The EFCC countered by affirming its taxpayer-funded mandate, with Olukoyede noting the ADC’s own admission: “The EFCC does not belong to the APC. It belongs to the Nigerian people. It is funded by taxpayers, not the ruling party.”

He stressed, “The immunity against any investigation by the EFCC is accountability and probity. Fraud is fraud. Corruption is corruption. There is no sacred cow, protected interest or partisan consideration.”

The EFCC urged Nigerians to “ignore political statements meant to heat up the polity and divert attention from the pillage of the national treasury,” calling for support in its fight against corruption.