By Muhammad Mamman
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has issued a blistering rebuke of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing it of manipulating the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to hound opposition politicians. In a fiery statement released on Monday, signed by National Publicity Secretary Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC warned that such tactics are shattering public confidence in the anti-corruption agency and jeopardling widespread distrust in Nigeria’s fight against graft.
The ADC alleges that the EFCC’s recent actions—reopening dormant cases and targeting opposition figures with summons—are driven by political vendettas rather than a pursuit of justice. “The EFCC was established as a fearless guardian of the Nigerian people’s trust, upholding the law impartially, whether for allies or adversaries, government or opposition. That noble vision now lies in tatters,” Abdullahi declared.
The party claims the EFCC has become a political cudgel, operating as an extension of the APC to silence critics and opposition voices. “The Commission has been reduced to a mere department of the APC, wielded to suppress those the government cannot defeat through open debate,” Abdullahi charged.
Highlighting what it calls selective prosecution, the ADC pointed to cases where investigations into APC loyalists have mysteriously fizzled out, while opposition figures face relentless scrutiny. “Since a certain former governor switched allegiance to the APC, bringing his state’s political machinery with him, the EFCC’s probes into his administration have vanished into thin air. Not a whisper, not a leak, not a single update,” Abdullahi noted. “In today’s Nigeria, guilt or innocence seems to hinge on party affiliation, not evidence.”
The ADC cautioned that this blatant partisanship is corroding the EFCC’s credibility and undermining the nation’s anti-corruption crusade. “The EFCC is not the APC’s private militia—it belongs to the Nigerian people, funded by taxpayers, not party coffers,” the statement asserted.
Calling for urgent reform, the ADC urged stakeholders to safeguard public institutions from political capture. “This perilous trend is eroding trust in the EFCC and sabotaging the fight against corruption. We cannot allow our institutions to be hijacked for partisan agendas,” the party declared, demanding greater independence for the agency to restore its integrity and public faith.
