Malami: Atiku accuses EFCC of political witch-hunt, says anti-graft agencies have abandoned core mandate
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned the continued detention of former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, accusing Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies of abandoning their core responsibilities for “full-blown political witch-hunt.”
Mr Abubakar made the allegation in a statement issued by his media office on Thursday.
The opposition leader warned that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and other anti-graft bodies risk losing public confidence if they fail to “purge themselves of partisan contamination.”
According to him, the politicisation of corruption investigations has cast doubt on the EFCC’s credibility and undermined the ideals that informed its establishment.
He alleged that the agency had become “a weapon for narrow political agendas,” targeting individuals based on political affiliation rather than evidence.
Describing Mr Malami’s arrest as part of a pattern of “shamelessly selective pursuit of opposition figures,” Mr Abubakar accused the EFCC of operating as an “overzealous appendage of the ruling APC” bent on edging Nigeria toward a one-party state.
He also described as suspicious the EFCC’s “sudden hyperactivity” following the emergence of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, as a strong opposition bloc.
He referenced the actions taken against Mr Malami and former Sokoto State governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, alleging that corruption claims involving allies of the ruling party were routinely ignored.
Mr Abubakar recalled that some former governors with outstanding corruption cases were rewarded with ministerial and ambassadorial appointments under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
“We expected the EFCC to voice its objection to the appointment of former governors with unresolved corruption allegations. But partisan loyalty prevailed over integrity,” he said.
He further argued that if Mr Malami had defected to the APC, “the EFCC would have left him untouched, even if he had looted the entire CBN vault.”
The former Vice President accused the agency of acting like a “political rottweiler” deployed to intimidate and coerce opposition politicians into joining the ruling party, noting that “once they bow to pressure, their corruption cases mysteriously vanish.”
Mr Abubakar warned that no credible anti-corruption campaign can thrive when the independence of key institutions is compromised for partisan ends.
He urged the EFCC leadership to “urgently detach itself from political manipulation,” stressing that the agency’s integrity is too important to be traded for “the fleeting interests of any political party.”
