• ADC: “EFCC now Operating like APC’s Deparment”
• EFCC to ADC: “That’s a Lie, we are doing our job.”
By Abiola Olawale
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has raised an alarm, accusing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of allegedly witch-hunting opposition figures in the name of corruption fighting.
This comes after the EFCC reportedly arrested and detained former Sokoto State Governor and current Senator representing Sokoto south Senatorial district of Sokoto State at the Senate, Aminu Tambuwal, over alleged fraudulent cash withdrawals amounting to ₦189 billion while in office as governor.
However, ADC, in a press statement issued on Tuesday claimed that the EFCC has put three former governors, all coalition leaders, on its radar.
The party condemned the EFCC for what it described as selective prosecution, pointing to a pattern of reviving old cases against opposition figures while ignoring allegations against APC allies.
The ADC statement reads in part: “In recent days, several senior members of the Opposition Coalition have received EFCC summons that are 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.
“The EFCC was created to be a fearless defender of the Nigerian people’s trust, applying the law evenly to all, friend or foe, ruling party or opposition. Today, that vision appears to have been compromised. The Commission now operates like a department of the APC, deployed to fight government critics and opposition figures thereby achieving what the government cannot achieve through public debate.
“Meanwhile, we have observed how investigations into ruling party allies quietly fade away while opposition figures are dragged before the court of public opinion with sometimes decade-old allegations that have been hastily revived and dressed up as fresh evidence. This is selective prosecution, and selective prosecution is the death of justice.
“It does appear that in today’s Nigeria, one’s guilt or innocence depends on one’s party membership, not evidence. For example, since a certain former governor defected to the APC with his state’s entire political machinery, the EFCC’s investigations into his administration have vanished from public view. Not a question has been asked. Not a document leaked. Not a single update. Yet the same EFCC still somehow finds means to reopen old cases against opposition leaders and pursue the stale allegations against them.”
Reacting swiftly, the EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale described the ADC’s allegations as untenable, daring the party to back its claims with facts.
He said: “This position is patently untenable and ridiculous. Where are the facts and statistics to justify such a claim?
“The commission is non-partisan and non-sectarian. Are the cases Abdullahi is talking about concocted by the EFCC? Those who committed the crime should be ready to have their time in court. Available records in our courts are enough to show that the EFCC only operates by its mandate, and the mandate does not make it an appendage of any political party.”
