The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has described the sudden probe of opposition leaders by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as an assault on political freedom.
Its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi in a statement issued Tuesday noted that the pattern of ignoring All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwarts with fresher and well-documented cases, while targeting opposition figures with stale allegations, was proof of selective justice.
TheHintsNews report that the anti-graft agency on Monday detained one of the leaders of the coalition and former Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, and also invited Imo State Government officials to “urgently” provide information on the seven-month tenure of former Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha.
The move, he noted, has become crystal clear that the EFCC was out on a hatchet job — a choreographed media trial targeted at bringing coalition leaders to disrepute.
The party questioned why the EFCC had suddenly found “urgent” reason to investigate Senator David Mark 10 years after leaving the Senate Presidency, Ihedioha more than five years after his brief tenure as governor, and Tambuwal two years after leaving office as Sokoto governor.
Abdullahi noted: “Following our earlier release on Monday, in which we alerted Nigerians about the plan to deploy the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as a political weapon by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), we wish to bring to the public’s attention fresh details that expose the extent of this coordinated assault on the opposition.
“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.
“As shown in an EFCC correspondence currently circulating online, the Commission has now embarked on the investigation of another coalition chieftain, former Imo Governor, Emeka Ihedioha, with an “urgent” request to the officials to provide information related specifically to his brief seven months in office.
“The party said 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.
“Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, the former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, served as Governor of Imo State for just 7 months, from May 29, 2019, until the Supreme Court removed him on January 14, 2020 — a full 5 years and 7 months ago. We therefore wonder what makes investigating him suddenly “urgent” now.
“Most notably, the EFCC has now surreptitiously started excavating all the files from the ADC Chairman, Senator David Mark’s tenure as President of the Nigerian Senate.
“Let us remind Nigerians that our Party Chairman, Senator Mark, served as the Senate President for 8 years, from June 6, 2007, to June 6, 2015 — making him the longest-serving Senate President in our history. He left office 10 years and 2 months ago. Three Senate Presidents after, the EFCC suddenly remembered that he was a Senate President.
“While the ADC, as a party, stands for adherence to the rule of law and due process, like all Nigerians, we question the curious timing, selective targets, and political motivations that now seem to define the EFCC’s actions.”
The opposition party maintained that 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,” it said.