The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of being deployed as a political weapon by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to intimidate and discredit leaders of the opposition coalition ahead of the 2027 elections.
The party made the allegation on Tuesday in reaction to the overnight detention of former Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, and what it described as an “urgent” EFCC request to the Imo State Government for details of former Governor Emeka Ihedioha’s seven-month tenure in 2019.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the commission’s sudden interest in long-concluded tenures of opposition figures, while ignoring “fresher, well-documented cases” involving APC stalwarts, was evidence of selective justice.
Abdullahi noted that the EFCC had now reopened files on former Senate President David Mark, who left office in June 2015 after serving eight years — the longest in the nation’s history — and questioned why the investigations had become “urgent” only now.
“We wonder why the EFCC suddenly found ‘urgent’ reason to investigate 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,” the statement read. “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 ADC alleged that the timing and targets of the EFCC’s actions formed part of a calculated strategy to weaken the opposition through “media trials” that end with public condemnation rather than legal resolution.
It further accused the APC of shielding its members from anti-corruption scrutiny once they defect to the ruling party, citing the case of former Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, whose alleged cases have reportedly gone silent since his defection.
“These are not fresh investigations — they are political manoeuvres, cynical attempts to intimidate and weaken credible opposition voices,” the party said. “Once a former governor crosses over to the APC, their files vanish like morning dew. Yet opposition leaders are hounded with allegations from decades past without a shred of new evidence.”
The ADC warned that the politicisation of the EFCC risks eroding public trust and undermining Nigeria’s democratic institutions.
“State institutions do not belong to the ruling party — they belong to Nigerians,” Abdullahi declared. “Today it is David Mark, Ihedioha and Tambuwal. Tomorrow, it could be anyone who dares to hold this government accountable.”
