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A coalition of Nigeria’s foremost opposition leaders has raised a grave alarm over what it described as an unfolding threat to the survival of the country’s multi-party democracy, accusing the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of weaponising state institutions to intimidate, persecute and ultimately annihilate opposition forces.

In a strongly worded joint press statement titled “Anti-Corruption, Not Anti-Opposition: A Joint Statement by Opposition Leaders on the Growing Politicisation of State Institutions for Persecution of the Opposition,” the leaders said they were compelled by duty to nation and conscience to speak out against what they see as Nigeria’s gradual slide into selective justice and political repression. The statement was jointly signed by Senator David Mark, GCON; Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, GCON; Mallam Lawal Batagarawa; Chief Bode George; Mr. Peter Obi, CON; and Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.

According to the opposition figures, key national institutions, particularly the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Nigeria Police and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, are increasingly perceived by Nigerians as tools of political intimidation rather than impartial agencies devoted to the fight against corruption. They warned that across the country there are mounting concerns that state power is no longer being deployed primarily for the prevention of economic and financial crimes, but rather for the persecution of perceived political adversaries, with the ultimate aim of weakening opposition voices and dismantling Nigeria’s multi-party democratic structure.

The leaders expressed deep concern that Nigeria is witnessing what they described as a dangerous and covert agenda, unprecedented in the nation’s democratic experience. They alleged that there is an ongoing effort to ensure that all state governments fall under the control of the President’s party, not through transparent and competitive electoral contests, but through the intimidation of opposition governors using anti-corruption agencies until they are compelled to defect. They said recent defections of opposition governors into the ruling party have reinforced widespread public suspicion that political pressure, rather than ideology or persuasion, is driving these realignments. This, they warned, is part of a broader project targeting not only elected officials but also key opposition figures perceived as architects of emerging political coalitions ahead of the 2027 general election. If allowed to continue unchecked, they cautioned, this agenda poses a grave danger to Nigeria’s democratic future.

Central to their concerns is what they described as the growing weaponisation of the EFCC. The statement alleged a discernible pattern of persecution of opposition figures by the Commission, aimed solely at weakening opposition parties for the benefit of the ruling All Progressives Congress. The leaders recalled a long-standing sentiment attributed to a former National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, who once declared while receiving defectors that once a politician joins the APC, all sins are forgiven. Whether intended as rhetoric or not, the opposition leaders said the remark has come to symbolise a troubling reality in which allegations against members of the ruling party are perceived to be ignored, while even unsubstantiated accusations against opposition figures are aggressively pursued and amplified through media trials.

They cited recent examples that, in their view, reinforce public perception of selective enforcement. They recalled that months ago, a serving minister was implicated in a financial scandal so blatant that only sustained public outrage forced her resignation, yet long after leaving office she has neither been charged nor arraigned by the EFCC and is now actively involved in the President’s re-election campaign. They also pointed to another minister who remained in office despite a university publicly denying his academic certificate, noting that he only resigned after intense public pressure and that months later, no charges have been filed. Such selective enforcement, the opposition leaders argued, undermines the legitimacy of anti-corruption efforts and erodes public trust in state institutions.

The statement further noted that Nigerians are increasingly aware of the sudden empowerment of certain political actors who crossed over from the opposition and were subsequently appointed to federal executive positions, yet still lay claim to opposition party membership. In the eyes of the public, the leaders said, the unstated mandate of such individuals appears to include the systematic destabilisation of opposition parties through the creation of factions, inducements and the exploitation of judicial processes, allegedly funded with state resources.

Expressing alarm at what they described as the erosion of the EFCC’s independence, the opposition leaders stressed that the Commission is a critical national institution created to safeguard Nigeria’s economic integrity. They warned that an agency designed for prevention and accountability risks becoming an instrument of political persecution, thereby undermining both justice and democracy. The President, they cautioned, must recognise that evident social and political injustice could snowball into mayhem as the country approaches another election cycle, and that this trend must be halted immediately to spare the nation a major catastrophe.

As part of their demands, the opposition leaders called for the urgent depoliticisation of the EFCC, insisting that its operations must be shielded from political interference and must not serve the whims and caprices of any President, party or political faction. They urged that the Commission be returned strictly to its statutory mandate of genuine detection and prevention of economic crimes across the board, rather than selective prosecution, media trials or intimidation of opposition figures, emphasising that the functions and powers of the EFCC are clearly provided for under Sections 6 and 7 of its enabling law.

They also stressed the need to defend Nigeria’s multi-party democracy, warning that Nigerians must remain eternally vigilant to ensure that the President does not transform the country into a de facto one-party state. They referenced Lagos over the last 25 years as an example where, in their view, opposition leaders were silenced, coerced or induced into irrelevance.

In a far-reaching reform proposal, the leaders advocated embedding preventive anti-corruption mechanisms directly into government operations. Relying on a Supreme Court ruling on the powers of the EFCC over all public accounts, they proposed that anti-graft operatives be embedded in all government payment and expenditure processes at the federal, state and local government levels to ensure transparency, accountability and probity in public financial transactions. They clarified that the EFCC must recognise and exercise its function as covering both pre-expenditure and post-expenditure oversight, adding that operatives should also be held accountable for any unreported but later detected economic and financial infractions within their areas of oversight. To give effect to this approach, they proposed amendments to the EFCC Act to strengthen the agency’s preventive mandate.

The opposition leaders also called for the establishment of an independent review body to examine public accounts across the country. They urged the Attorney General of the Federation, in consultation with the National Assembly, to set up an independent body with full access to the public accounts of the federal government, all states and all local governments covering the period from 2015 to 2025. The body, they said, should be mandated to conduct a transparent and comprehensive review of financial transactions and publish its findings. According to them, such a review would expose patterns of selective prosecution against opposition figures and reveal that many current federal officials and officials of ruling-party-controlled states should have long been prosecuted for economic and financial crimes but were shielded because of their political affiliation. Based on its findings, the body should also propose amendments to the EFCC’s enabling law to make the agency more effective and efficient in preventing financial crimes.

They proposed that the independent review body be chaired by an eminent judge and composed of representatives from civil society organisations, the Nigerian Bar Association, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, the Institute of Chartered Bankers, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, anti-graft agencies, the Police, the Department of State Services, the Armed Forces, and representatives of all political parties with seats in the National Assembly.

In a passionate call to action, the opposition leaders appealed to all patriotic Nigerians across party lines, professions, regions and faiths to stand firm, warning that Nigeria’s democracy is under threat through the deliberate and systematic weakening of opposition forces, with the EFCC as the central instrument in what they described as a troubling strategy. They disclosed that in the coming weeks they would provide more details and engage foreign partners of Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies as well as diplomatic missions, including those of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the European Union, the World Bank Office and the United Nations, to express deep concern about the EFCC increasingly becoming a willing tool in a broader scheme to weaken opposition in Nigeria and to demand comprehensive reform of the agency.

Invoking the words of Edmund Burke that the triumph of evil requires only that good men do nothing, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s warning that silence in the face of evil is itself evil, the leaders said now is the time for Nigerians to rise in defence of the country’s cherished multi-party democracy and the very soul of the nation. They warned against being remembered by posterity for silence, stressing that Nigeria belongs to all its citizens and not to a single party or a single leader.

StreetReporters.ng

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