Atiku alleged that the agency had become “a weapon for narrow political agendas,” accusing it of selecting targets based on political affiliation rather than evidence.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies of abandoning their core mandate and descending into what he described as a “full-blown political witch-hunt” targeted at opposition figures.
In a statement issued by his media office in Abuja on Thursday, Atiku cautioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-graft bodies to “purge themselves of partisan contamination” or risk losing public confidence entirely.
Reacting to the recent arrest and detention of former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), the former Vice President said the EFCC was drifting far from the founding ideals that justified its establishment.
According to him, “The politicisation of corruption investigations has rendered the EFCC’s credibility suspect and rubbished the very ideals that inspired its establishment.”
Atiku alleged that the agency had become “a weapon for narrow political agendas,” accusing it of selecting targets based on political affiliation rather than evidence.
He described the arrest of Malami as part of a pattern of “shamelessly selective pursuit of opposition figures,” claiming the EFCC was operating as an “overzealous appendage of the ruling APC” bent on creating a one-party state.
He said he found it suspicious that the EFCC became “suddenly hyperactive” after the African Democratic Congress (ADC) emerged as a strong opposition bloc.
He referenced coordinated actions against Malami and former Sokoto State governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, while alleging that corruption allegations involving allies of the ruling party were ignored.
Atiku also recalled that some former governors with outstanding corruption cases were rewarded with ministerial and ambassadorial positions under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
“We expected the EFCC to voice its objection to the appointment of former governors with unresolved corruption allegations. But partisan loyalty prevailed over integrity,” he said.
He further argued that if Malami had defected to the APC, “the EFCC would have left him untouched, even if he had looted the entire CBN vault.”
The former Vice President accused the agency of acting like a “political rottweiler” deployed to intimidate and coerce politicians into joining the ruling party.
According to him, “once they bow to pressure, their corruption cases mysteriously vanish.”
Atiku warned that no credible anti-corruption campaign could operate effectively if the independence of key institutions was compromised for partisan purposes.
He urged the EFCC leadership to “urgently detach itself from political manipulation,” insisting that the agency’s integrity was too important to be traded for “the fleeting interests of any political party.”
The statement was signed by the Atiku Media Office, Abuja, and dated December 11, 2025.