The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has faulted claims by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) that it is being used by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to persecute opposition leaders, insisting its operations are non-partisan and have no sacred cows.

In a Tuesday statement by EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, the commission described the ADC’s comments as “self-serving, diversionary, narrow and idle,” maintaining that corruption cases must be investigated regardless of political affiliation or if the time elapsed.

Quoting the EFCC chairman Ola Olukoyede, Mr Oyewale said: “If I am not condemned for investigating both former and serving strong ruling party governors and ministers, I should not be condemned for also investigating opposition figures. Fraud is fraud. Corruption is corruption. There is no sacred cow, protected interest or partisan consideration in the investigation and prosecution of corruption.”

The EFCC noted that it has ongoing cases against individuals from across the political spectrum, including serving state governors, ministers, and senior officials in the ruling party, as well as prominent opposition leaders. “Every corruption allegation deserves to be investigated and there is no constraint of time and season in criminal investigations,” the statement added.

The commission’s rebuttal came a day after a former Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, now a serving senator, was detained at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja over alleged fraudulent cash withdrawals totalling N189 billion.

Peoples Gazette learnt from impeccable EFCC sources that the transactions, allegedly made during Mr Tambuwal’s eight-year tenure as governor between 2015 and 2023, were believed to have been structured in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. Investigators suspect the withdrawals were designed to evade detection and might have formed part of a larger laundering scheme.

Mr Tambuwal, a former speaker of the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015, has long been a heavyweight in Nigerian politics. His career has been marked by high-profile party switches — notably his 2014 defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC while serving as speaker, and his return to the PDP in 2018 ahead of his unsuccessful presidential bids in 2019 and 2022.

Critics accused him of using political manoeuvres to shield himself from accountability, allegations he stoutly denied. His detention has now become the centrepiece of a political row between the EFCC and the ADC-led opposition coalition.

In a statement on Tuesday statement by the party’s national publicity secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC accused the EFCC of “choreographed media trials” aimed at discrediting key opposition figures. The party said Mr Tambuwal’s detention was part of a broader campaign targeting leaders of the opposition coalition.

The ADC also pointed to an “urgent” EFCC request to Imo State government officials for records relating to the seven-month tenure of a former governor, Emeka Ihedioha, who left office in January 2020, and a renewed probe into the ADC chairman, David Mark’s tenure as Senate president from 2007 to 2015.

According to the party, the sudden revival of the old cases, some more than a decade after the officials left office, while “ignoring APC stalwarts with fresher and well-documented cases,” was proof of selective justice and an “assault on political freedom.”

“A fight against corruption that begins and ends with the opposition is not justice — it is persecution,” the ADC said, alleging that the APC government was using the EFCC to weaken the coalition by tarnishing its leaders with corruption allegations in the media.

Mr Oyewale dismissed the ADC’s claims as an attempt to distract from the substance of the investigations, stressing that “nothing will make an innocent person answer any charge from the EFCC.” He said the only immunity from EFCC action was “accountability and probity.”

The spokesperson added: “The opposition figures the ADC is trying unsuccessfully to whitewash know in their hearts that they have issues that necessitated their invitations by the commission. The commission will not be blackmailed into making full disclosures of its discreet investigations of any state or non-state actor, no matter the provocation.”

The EFCC urged Nigerians to ignore political statements “meant to heat up the polity and divert attention from the pillage of the national treasury,” pledging to continue its work “without fear or favour.”