Osun: ‘Tinubu Has Exposed Myth of EFCC Independence,’— Says Atiku

The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar,  has accused President Bola Tinubu of exposing what he described as the “myth” of the operational independence of Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies.

Atiku said Tinubu’s directive to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to unfreeze  the Osun State Government’s account showed that the commission was subject to presidential control.

In a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku challenged the President to order the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to release former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai if he truly had authority over anti-graft agencies.

“President Tinubu cannot have it both ways,” Atiku said.

“He cannot claim that he neither knew of nor interferes in the operations of the EFCC and, in the very next breath, announce that he has directed the Commission to discontinue its action and return to court. If the EFCC promptly complies with that directive, then Nigerians have before them undeniable proof that the Commission is not as operationally independent as the President wants the country to believe.”

The former vice president questioned the discrepancy between the EFCC’s earlier explanation for freezing the Osun account and the President’s reference to a court order.

“While the EFCC’s official statement painstakingly explained why it froze the Osun State Government’s account, it made no mention whatsoever of obtaining a court order,” he said.

“If indeed there was a court order, why did the EFCC omit such a fundamental fact from its official account? If there was none, then the President has introduced into the public discourse a legal process that exists nowhere in the EFCC’s own narrative.”

Atiku argued that the President’s intervention had created a constitutional and moral obligation that could not be applied selectively.

“Having now demonstrated that he can issue direct operational directives to anti-corruption agencies whenever he considers it expedient, President Tinubu owes Nigerians an explanation as to why he cannot exercise the same authority in the case of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai,” he said.

“If he can direct the EFCC to discontinue its action today, then he cannot pretend to be powerless over the actions of the ICPC tomorrow.”

He added that the controversy was no longer only about Osun State or El-Rufai, but about the credibility of Nigeria’s anti-corruption institutions.

“The real casualty is the credibility of Nigeria’s anti-corruption institutions and the rule of law itself,” Atiku said.

“Nigerians deserve institutions that are genuinely independent—not institutions that are portrayed as independent until the Presidency decides otherwise.”

The ADC candidate also raised questions about the timing of the freezing of the Osun account, noting that the state is controlled by an opposition party and is approaching a governorship election.

“Who authorised the freezing of the account of an opposition-controlled state just days before a governorship election, and why was such an extraordinary action taken at such a politically sensitive moment?” he asked.

“Democracy is not measured by the ability to reverse an injustice after public outrage; it is measured by the discipline to prevent such injustice from occurring in the first place.”

Atiku said that although reversing the freezing of the account might reduce tension around the electoral process, it did not remove the need for answers about why the action was taken initially.

The Presidency and the EFCC had not issued any fresh response to Atiku’s latest remarks as of the time of filing this report.