The African Democratic Congress on Tuesday accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of singling out opposition leaders for politically motivated probes, alleging that its Interim National Chairman and former Senate President, David Mark, is the latest target.
Bola Abdullahi, the spokesman of the ADC claimed the EFCC had “surreptitiously started excavating” files from Mark’s tenure as Senate President, a decade after he left office as part of a “choreographed media trial” against leaders of the opposition coalition.
Though, this is coming after the anti-graft agency on Monday, arrested former Governor of Sokoto State Aminu Tambuwal.
“The EFCC has now surreptitiously started excavating all the files from David Mark’s tenure as Senate President, 10 years after he left office,” Abdullahi said, questioning the timing of the investigation. “The pattern of ignoring APC stalwarts with fresher and well-documented cases, while targeting opposition figures with stale allegations, is proof of selective justice and an assault on political freedom.”
The party alleged that these actions were part of the ruling All Progressives Congress’ strategy to weaken the opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections, describing the move as a “witch-hunt disguised as anti-corruption.”
“Following our earlier release on Monday, we wish to bring to the public’s attention fresh details that expose the extent of this coordinated assault on the opposition,” Abdullahi stated. “The detention of one of our leaders, former Sokoto State Governor, Senator Aminu Tambuwal, has marked the start of the crackdown intended to intimidate key leaders of the opposition and discredit them through media trials.
“Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha served as Governor of Imo State for just seven months, from May 29, 2019, until the Supreme Court removed him on January 14, 2020 — a full five years and seven months ago. We, therefore, wonder what makes investigating him suddenly urgent now.”
According to Abdullahi, the EFCC’s actions reflect “a calculated attempt to discredit opposition leaders at all costs.”
He alleged: “Having failed to stop the coalition, the jittery ruling party’s next move is to discredit its leaders by getting the EFCC to accuse them of looting the entire treasuries. These are calculated media trials; it matters little whether there is a basis for these accusations — the game is the circus show.”