Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned that Nigeria’s anti-corruption campaign risks becoming a political witch-hunt.

In a statement issued by his media office in Abuja on Thursday, Atiku said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-graft agencies risk losing public trust unless they purge themselves of partisan influence.

He cited the arrest and detention of former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, as evidence that the EFCC is drifting from its founding principles. “The agency was created to uphold justice, but it is now weaponising its powers to serve narrow political agendas,” Atiku said.

Atiku accused the EFCC of selective investigations targeting opposition figures while overlooking corruption allegations involving allies of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). He suggested that the commission had become overly active following the emergence of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as an opposition force, launching coordinated actions against figures such as Malami and Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

He criticised the EFCC for ignoring corruption allegations against former governors who were subsequently appointed ministers and ambassadors by President Bola Tinubu. “Had Malami joined the APC, the EFCC would have left him untouched, even if he had looted the entire CBN vault,” Atiku said.

Describing the agency as operating like a “political rottweiler,” Atiku said it was being used to intimidate politicians into aligning with the APC, with corruption cases mysteriously disappearing once they comply.

He urged the EFCC leadership to detach the commission from political manipulation and safeguard its integrity, stressing that no serious nation fights corruption by sacrificing the independence of its oversight institutions. “The stakes are too high for the anti-graft commission to trade its credibility for partisan interests,” Atiku added.