Prominent opposition leaders, including Atiku Abubakar, Mark, George, Obi, and Odigie-Oyegun, have raised serious concerns over what they describe as the growing politicisation of key national institutions in Nigeria.
In a joint statement issued in Abuja, the leaders accused the federal government of deploying agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the Nigeria Police as instruments to intimidate opposition figures and suppress dissent ahead of the 2027 general election.
The statement warns that state power is increasingly being used not for the prevention of economic crimes but to persecute perceived political adversaries, systematically weakening opposition voices and threatening the country’s multiparty democracy.
A Dangerous Agenda Unfolding
According to the statement, Nigerians are witnessing a covert agenda designed to bring all state governments under the control of the ruling APC—not through transparent elections, but by using anti-corruption agencies to pressure opposition governors into defection.
“Recent defections of opposition governors into the ruling party reinforce public suspicion that political pressure, not ideological or personal persuasion, is driving this realignment,” the leaders said.
They warned that the strategy targets not only elected officials but also key opposition figures viewed as architects of emerging coalitions ahead of the 2027 elections, posing a grave threat to Nigeria’s democratic future.
Weaponisation of the EFCC
The statement highlights a pattern of selective enforcement by the EFCC aimed at weakening the opposition while shielding members of the ruling party.
The leaders cited past remarks by former APC National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole, who declared, “Once you have joined APC, all your sins are forgiven,” as symbolic of the perception that ruling party members are protected from scrutiny.
Several examples were cited to reinforce this point. A minister implicated in a major financial scandal resigned only after public pressure, yet no EFCC prosecution followed, and she is now active in the President’s re-election campaign.
Another minister remained in office despite a university denying his academic certificate, resigning only after intense scrutiny, with no subsequent charges.
Such selective enforcement, the statement notes, undermines anti-corruption efforts and erodes public trust. The leaders also observed that some opposition figures who defected to the ruling party were allegedly tasked with destabilising opposition structures, creating factions, and exploiting judicial processes, often with the support of state resources.
Erosion of EFCC’s Independence
The statement warns that the independence of the EFCC, a critical institution for safeguarding Nigeria’s economic integrity, is steadily being eroded.
An agency designed to prevent and punish economic crimes is at risk of becoming a tool for political persecution, undermining both justice and democracy.
Demands of the Opposition Leaders
The leaders outlined several key demands to safeguard democracy:
- Depoliticise EFCC: The operations of the EFCC must be shielded from political interference and should not serve the whims of any President, party, or political faction.
- Return EFCC to Statutory Mandate: The commission should focus on genuine detection and prevention of economic crimes across the board, not selective prosecution or media trials of opposition figures.
- Defend Multiparty Democracy: Nigerians must remain vigilant to prevent the transformation of the country into a de facto one-party state, citing Lagos as an example where opposition leaders were silenced over 25 years.
- Embed Preventive Anti-Corruption Mechanisms: The EFCC should exercise pre- and post-expenditure oversight across federal, state, and local governments, with operatives held accountable for unreported economic infractions. Amendments to the EFCC Act are proposed to strengthen its role.
- Establish an Independent Review Body: The leaders called on the Attorney General, in consultation with the National Assembly, to set up an independent body with full access to public accounts from 2015 to 2025 across all levels of government. Chaired by an eminent judge, the body would include representatives from civil society, the Nigerian Bar Association, the Institute of Chartered Accountants, the Institute of Chartered Bankers, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, anti-graft agencies, the Police, DSS, Armed Forces, and all political parties represented in the National Assembly. Its mandate would be to conduct a transparent, comprehensive review of financial transactions, expose selective prosecution patterns, and recommend legal amendments to strengthen the EFCC.
A Call to Nigerians
The statement concluded with a call for all patriotic Nigerians to stand firm in defence of the country’s multiparty democracy.
“Our democracy is under threat through the deliberate and systematic weakening of opposition forces, with the EFCC as the central instrument in this troubling strategy,” it said.
The leaders also announced plans to engage foreign partners, including diplomatic missions from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, European Union, World Bank, and the United Nations, to express concern over the politicisation of anti-graft agencies and demand reforms.
Citing the words of Edmund Burke and Martin Luther King Jr., the statement warned that silence in the face of injustice is complicity.
“Now is the time for all of us to rise in defence of our cherished multiparty democracy, and indeed, in defence of the very soul of our nation,” it concluded.
