Musa Na Allah, Sokoto
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) on Tuesday in Sokoto delivered a blistering rebuke to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accusing the agency of abandoning its anti-graft mandate to serve as the political attack machinery of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
The association condemned the EFCC’s interrogation and detention of former Sokoto State Governor and serving Senator, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, over alleged fraudulent withdrawals totalling ₦189 billion, calling the move a deliberate political assault aimed at weakening the opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, alleged that the EFCC has become a “willing tool” in a broader campaign to intimidate members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC)-led opposition coalition, which has openly declared its readiness to challenge Tinubu’s re election bid.
According to Onwubiko, the EFCC has shed its image as a fearless watchdog and rebranded itself as “a submissive lapdog executing partisan directives,” using the façade of anti-corruption to pursue political enemies while shielding ruling party loyalists.
“Every discerning Nigerian can read the handwriting on the wall. The EFCC is not fighting corruption anymore; it is fighting the opposition.
“This is nothing but the weaponization of state power to dismantle political rivals,” HURIWA declared.
The association backed its claim with remarks from ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, who disclosed that at least three former governors aligned with the coalition were recently summoned over “stale and recycled allegations” rather than fresh evidence, a move the party sees as a coordinated hit job.
HURIWA contrasted the Commission’s aggression towards the opposition with its silence over credible corruption allegations involving high-profile defectors to the APC, saying their case files “magically disappear” the moment they switch allegiance to the ruling party.
“This is not justice; it is political persecution.
“It is an open secret that joining the APC grants immunity from prosecution, while staying in the opposition makes you a permanent target for recycled accusations,” Onwubiko said.
The group also condemned the timing of Tambuwal’s arrest, noting that it came barely months after the opposition began strategic consultations for 2027 describing it as a “premeditated strike to cripple resistance before the contest even begins.”
HURIWA dismissed EFCC’s public claims of impartiality as “an insult to the intelligence of Nigerians,” arguing that the agency’s pattern of selective enforcement has become glaringly obvious.
The rights group warned that the EFCC’s current trajectory risks eroding public trust, undermining the credibility of the anti-graft campaign, and turning a once respected institution into a political sledgehammer.
“Selective prosecution is the death of justice. When anti-corruption becomes a partisan weapon, democracy suffocates and tyranny prospers,” it said.
Calling for collective resistance, HURIWA urged Nigerians, civil society, professional bodies, and the media to stand against what it termed “a dangerous slide into one-party dictatorship,” stressing that unchecked abuse of state power could permanently damage Nigeria’s democratic architecture.
“The EFCC does not belong to the APC and must not function as Bola Tinubu’s re-election task force.
“If it continues on this path, the Nigerian people will have no choice but to mount sustained civil and legal resistance,” the statement concluded.
