The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of being used by the federal government to harass and discredit opposition leaders.
In a statement on Tuesday, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC interim national publicity secretary, alleged that the anti-graft agency had embarked on “a choreographed media trial” against key opposition figures.
Abdullahi said the overnight detention of Aminu Tambuwal, former Sokoto State governor, and the EFCC’s “urgent” request for information on the seven-month tenure of Emeka Ihedioha, former Imo State governor, were politically motivated. He also faulted the commission’s reported move to investigate David Mark, the party’s interim national chairman, over his time as Senate president.
“ADC, like all Nigerians, questions the curious timing, selective targets, and political motivations that now seem to define the EFCC’s actions,” he said.
“A fight against corruption that begins and ends with the opposition is not justice — it is persecution. We have no doubts that this is witch-hunting; it is the APC government weaponising anti-corruption to do its political battle.”
According to Abdullahi, the EFCC’s focus on opposition leaders is aimed at undermining their credibility ahead of the 2027 elections.
“Once a former governor crosses over to the ruling party, their files vanish like morning dew,” he said.
“Since Ifeanyi Okowa joined the APC, have Nigerians heard a single whisper from the EFCC about his cases?
“Yet opposition leaders are hounded with allegations from decades past without a shred of new evidence.”
He urged Nigerians to resist what he described as the misuse of state institutions for partisan purposes.
“Today, it is David Mark, Ihedioha, and Tambuwal. Tomorrow, it could be anyone who dares to hold this government accountable,” he said.
On Monday, the ADC had also accused the EFCC of acting like a “political hit squad” for the APC, stating that the commission’s “recent pattern of reopening closed cases and pursuing decades-old allegations is not the work of an impartial anti-graft body.”
