The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to intimidate and investigate its National Chairman, David Mark, and other notable chieftains of the coalition movement, including Imo State’s former governor, Emeka Ihedioha.

It would be recalled that the EFCC had on Monday arrested former Sokoto State Governor and member of the coalition, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, over allegations of financial sleaze.

In a statement in Abuja, yesterday, the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, accused the EFCC of engaging in a media trial of its leaders.

The ADC alleged that the desperation of the ruling party had become clear following its collaboration with the anti-corruption agency to harass ADC members and to discredit them.

However, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the detention of former Sokoto State Governor, Tambuwal, by the EFCC, describing it as part of a calculated attempt by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to “harass, intimidate and decimate” the opposition.

In a statement, Atiku alleged that Tambuwal’s detention was politically motivated and symptomatic of a broader agenda to weaken the opposition coalition through the weaponisation of anti-corruption agencies.

“The only reason the EFCC has detained the former governor is because he is a member of the opposition coalition. It is a continuation of the Tinubu-led administration’s agenda to harass, intimidate and decimate the opposition,” he said.

The former presidential candidate warned that the country was witnessing “a growing trend where the state and its operators have assumed the roles of a bully by making corruption and the fight against it a political agenda.”

He lamented that the EFCC, which he said was established during his tenure as Vice President to strengthen institutional accountability, was now being used as “a political tool to coerce opposition leaders into the ruling party.”

“It is as though anyone who associates with the opposition is a target for phantom corruption allegations, and as soon as they are coerced into the political agenda of Tinubu, their ‘sins’ are forgiven,” Atiku stated.

According to him, such tendencies not only undermine institutional integrity but also embolden corruption.

Meanwhile, the EFCC has said that no amount of political statements will stop it from carrying out its mandate of investigating cases involving politically-exposed persons from every divide.

In a statement, the EFCC quoted its Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, as saying: “If I am not condemned for investigating both former and serving ruling party’s governors and ministers, I should not be condemned for also investigating opposition figures.”

According to the EFCC, the ADC’s unprovoked attack on it concerning its handling of cases involving politically-exposed persons from every divide came as a rude shock and unwarranted blame-game.

The statement read in part: “Every objective and discerning watcher of events in the national political scene would admit that the Commission has been circumspect and dispassionate in the exercise of its mandate.

“The question is, what determines ‘fresh cases’ and ‘old cases?”

Every corruption allegation deserves to be investigated, and there is no constraint of time or season in criminal investigations.

“Available records in our courts showed that several political figures of all divides are answering charges of alleged economic and financial crimes and other acts of corruption.

“It is also public knowledge that the EFCC is busy investigating some key figures of the ruling party on allegations of corrupt practices.

“Besides, many serving state governors of various political colouration are on the investigative radar of the Commission.

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

“The ADC was right to have admitted that the EFCC does not belong to the APC. It belongs to the Nigerian people. It is funded by taxpayers, not the ruling party. Nothing can be farther from this truth.”

ALSO, the anti-graft agency has stated that politicians have devised a new means to perpetuate corruption and evade anti-graft agencies by declaring assets they have yet to acquire before assuming office.

The EFCC chairman, who disclosed this during the launch of a virtual tool on the code of conduct for public officers, yesterday, in Abuja, said this was a case of anticipatory looting of government funds by government appointees.

The event was organized by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms (TUGAR).

Olukoyede said that during the investigation, it was observed that the person of interest used a different house number when filling his declaration form, which was not the same as the real one with a view to building while in office.

He, therefore, urged the CCB to be watchful of such declarations by politicians.

ALSO, a former Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has stressed that Nigeria’s fight against corruption must be transparent to succeed.

Obi, who spoke while reacting to the arrest and interrogation of Tambuwal by the EFCC, said the development highlighted contradictions in the country’s anti-corruption efforts.

He said that the anti-graft war should operate under a uniform law that applies to everyone, regardless of political affiliation.

The former Anambra State governor, therefore, urged the anti-graft agencies to be guided by conscience and the rule of law, as well as replacing “impressions and preconceptions” with evidence and facts. (The Guardian)