By Eric Elezuo

Major opposition leaders in the country have raise the alarm over threat against Nigeria’s Multi-Party Democracy, accusing President Bola Tinubu of plot to annihilate opposition.

In a letter signed a group of major opposition and opinion leaders including Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Peter Obi, Chief Bode George, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Alhaji Lawal Batagarawa and Senator David Mark, the group demanded an independent review body to examine public accounts of federal, state, LGs from 2015 to 2025, the embedding of anti-graft operatives directly into government payment, expenditure processes at all levels among others

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 statement frowned at the state of the nation, lamenting the “unfortunate and gradual slide of our country into a state where key national institutions – particularly the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); The Nigeria Police; The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) are increasingly perceived as tools of political intimidation, selective justice and systematic persecution of opposition leaders.”

The statement in full:

We are compelled by duty to nation and conscience to issue this statement to alert our compatriots and the international community to the unfortunate and gradual slide of our country into a state where key national institutions – particularly the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); The Nigeria Police; The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) are increasingly perceived as tools of political intimidation, selective justice and systematic persecution of opposition leaders.

Across our nation, there are mounting concerns that state power is being deployed not for prevention of economic crimes, but for persecution of perceived political adversaries, with the ultimate aim of weakening opposition voices and dismantling Nigeria’s multiparty democracy.

A Dangerous Agenda Unfolding

More than ever before in our democratic experience, Nigerians have witnessed what many now describe as a covert, undemocratic agenda: to ensure that all state governments fall under the control of the President’s party – not through transparent electoral contests, but by secretly intimidating opposition governors via the anti-corruption apparatus until they succumb and defect. Recent defections of opposition governors into the ruling party have reinforced public suspicion that political pressure, not ideological or personal persuasion, is driving this realignment. This pattern forms part of a broader project that targets not only elected leaders but also key opposition figures perceived as architects of emerging coalitions ahead of the 2027 general election. We must warn that this project, if allowed to continue unchecked, poses a grave danger to Nigeria’s democratic future.

Weaponisation of the EFCC

There is a discernible pattern of persecution of the opposition by the EFCC with the sole objective of weakening same for the benefit of the ruling APC. This disturbing pattern mirrors a long-standing sentiment openly expressed years ago by a former National Chairman of the ruling APC, Adams Oshiomhole, who declared when receiving defectors from the PDP: “Once you have joined APC, all your sins are forgiven.” Whether intended as political rhetoric or not, this statement has come to symbolise a troubling reality: allegations against members of the ruling party are routinely perceived to be overlooked, while even unsubstantiated accusations against opposition figures are vigorously pursued and subjected to media trial.

A few recent examples reinforce this perception. Months ago, a minister was implicated in a financial scandal so blatant that only sustained public outrage forced her resignation. Yet, long after stepping down, she has neither been charged nor arraigned by the EFCC and is now actively involved in the President’s re-election campaign. Similarly, another minister remained in office despite the university he claimed to have attended publicly denying his academic certificate. He, too, resigned only after intense public pressure, Months later, no charges have been filed.

Such selective enforcement undermines the legitimacy of anticorruption efforts and erodes public trust. Furthermore, Nigerians are not blind to the sudden empowerment of certain political actors, including individuals appointed to federal executive positions after crossing from the opposition but still claim to be members of opposition party – whose unstated mandate, in the public’s eyes, appears to include the systematic destabilisation of opposition parties through the creation of factions, inducement and the exploitation of judicial processes, allegedly funded by state resources.

Erosion of EFCC’s Independence

The EFCC is a critical national institution, created to safeguard Nigeria’s economic integrity.

Yet today, many Nigerians fear that its independence is steadily being eroded. An agency designed for prevention and accountability risks becoming an instrument of political persecution, undermining both justice and democracy. The President must recognise that evident social and political injustice could snowball into mayhem as the nation approaches another election cycle. This trend must be halted immediately if the nation must be spared a major catastrophe.

OUR DEMANDS
• Depoliticise EFCC: The operations of the EFCC must be urgently shielded from political interference and must not serve the whims and caprices of any President, party or political faction.

• Return EFCC to Its Statutory Mandate: The Commission must refocus on genuine detection and prevention of economic crimes across board, not selective prosecution, media trials or intimidation of opposition figures. For the avoidance of doubt, the Functions and Powers of the Commission are expressly provided for under Sections 6 & 7 respectively.

• Defend Multiparty Democracy: Nigerians must remain eternally vigilant to ensure that the President does not transform the country into a de facto one-party state – as witnessed in Lagos over the last 25 years, where opposition leaders were silenced, coerced or induced into irrelevance.

• Embed Preventive Anti-Corruption Mechanisms: Relying on the Supreme Court ruling on the powers of the EFCC over all public accounts, for true prevention of financial crimes, anti-graft operatives should be embedded in all the payment processes of governments at all levels to ensure compliance with rules of transparency, accountability and probity in public financial transactions. Put differently, the EFCC must recognise and exercise their function as covering both pre and post expenditure. operatives must also be held accountable for any unreported but later detected economic and financial infractions in their respective areas of oversight. To further strengthen the EFCC, we propose that the EFCC Act should be amended for this purpose.

• Establish an Independent Review Body: We call on the Attorney General, in consultation with the National Assembly, to set up an independent review body which should be granted full access to the public accounts of the federal, all states and all local governments covering from 2015 to 2025, with a mandate to conduct a transparent, comprehensive review of financial transactions and publish its findings. Such a review will expose the EFCC’s pattern of selective prosecution of opposition figures and reveal that many current officials of the federal government—and those of ruling-party-controlled states—should have long been prosecuted for economic and financial crimes, but were shielded due to their political affiliation. Based on its findings, the independent body should also propose amendments to EFCC’s enabling law to strengthen the agency for more effective and efficient prevention of financial crimes.
This proposed body is to be chaired by an eminent judge, and composed of the following:
– Representatives from civil society organisations
– Representatives of the Nigerian Bar Association
– Representatives of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria
– Representatives of Institute of Chartered Bankers
– The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit
– Representatives of anti-graft agencies
– Representatives of the Police
– Representatives of the DSS
– Representatives of the Armed Forces
– Representatives of all political parties with a seat in the National Assembly.

A Call to Defend Nigeria’s Democracy

We call on all patriotic Nigerians across party lines, professions, regions and faiths to stand firm. 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.

In the coming weeks, we will provide more details, and also engage foreign partners of Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies and diplomatic missions, including United States, UK, Canada, EU, World Bank Office, United Nations, to express our deep concern about the EFCC increasingly becoming a willing tool in a broader scheme to weaken opposition in Nigeria, and also demand a reform of the anti graft agency.

Nigeria’s democracy demands our vigilance, courage and unity, as Edmund Burke, an Anglo-Irish statesman and philosopher, warned: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”.

We are equally guided by the enduring words of Martin Luther King Jnr: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil ……In the end we shall remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” 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.

We must make a deliberate choice not to be remembered by posterity for our Silence.
Nigeria belongs to all of us – not to a single party or a single leader.

Signed,
Sen. David Mark, GCON
Alh. Atiku Abubakar, GCON
Mallam Lawal Batagarawa
Chief Bode George
Mr. Peter Obi, CON
Chief John Odigie-Oyegun

By Eric Elezuo

With the recent clamping in prison custody of a former governor of Anambra State and former Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige, it appears that these are not the best of times for most political office holders during the eights tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who unfortunately died on July 11 at the age of 83.

Two and half years since he left office, and five months after his death, Buhari’s loyalists have faced untold clampdown by the government of President Bola Tinubu as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has consistently spread its dragnet, capturing as many that it deems have served under alleged questionable circumstances. While many are facing trials, many others are under investigation, in what many analysts and observers claim is a clampdown on the ‘boys’ of former President Buhari. These group, observers believe, may not have exhibited genuine support for the emergence of Tinubu prior to the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primaries up to the 2023 Presidential Election. They believe it’s payback time for the government of Tinubu against the Buhari loyalists, who thinks little or nothing of Tinubu, and recently of his presidency.

Among the ‘Buhari Boys’ either under trial or under investigation are former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; former Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chris Ngige; former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika; Minister of Communication, Isa Patami; Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva; former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman and former Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Godwin Emefiele, who was not a minister.

DR. CHRIS NGIGE

The arrest of Ngige is one clampdown that took many by surprise, prompting not a few persons to relive the 2020 incident between the former Labour Minister and one of Tinubu’s croonies, Hon Faleke.

During a House Hearing, Ngige and Faleke had fallen out, and Ngige was quoted as making reference to Tinubu. He told Faleke that it was actually his boss (referring to Tinubu) who could stand up to him cause, according to him, both of them were contemporaries, having occupied same positions in their political careers including being governors and senators. Ngige also hinted that he has been a minister while Tinubu hasn’t.

Some believe that the Tinubu camp has kept this altercation in mind till this day.

As a result, the EFCC has arraigned Ngige, before Justice Mariam Hassan of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Gwarinpa, on eight count charge of corruption allegations totalling N2.2 billion.

In the eight-count charge, marked: FCT/HC/CR/726/2025, the former minister was the sole defendant.

According to the charge dated October 31 and filed on December 9 by a team of lawyers, led by Mr Sylvanus Tahir (SAN), Mr Ngige was alleged to have committed the offences while serving as Minister of Labour under the ex-President Muhammadu Buhari.

In one of the counts, Ngige was alleged to have, between September 2015 and May 2023, while being the supervising Minister of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), used his position to confer an unfair advantage upon Cezimo Nigeria Limited, a company whose MD/CEO and alter ego, Ezebinwa Amarachukwu Charles, is his associate.

Mr Ngige, who was committed to prison till resumption of trial, or pending when bail conditions are met, was said to have awarded seven contracts for consultancy, training, and supply by the NSITF to the said company to the tune of ₦366,470,920.68 (Three Hundred and Sixty Six Million, Four Hundred and Seventy Thousand, Nine Hundred and Twenty Naira and Sixty Eight Kobo).

ABUBAKAR MALAMI

Last week, the EFCC invited Malami over transactions linked to the recovery of part of the Abacha loot but released him after several hours, though was later reinvited, and still in custody.

The Commission revealed that Malami is to be arraigned in court for alleged misappropriation of funds.

The former minister has denied any wrongdoing in the matter and said he was innocent.

A source in the commission said that “first, he has been granted an administrative bail but he’s with us because he’s yet to perfect his bail conditions. The documents he submitted for bail are still being scrutinised. Once that is done, he will go.

“Secondly, he would be arraigned in court as soon as we conclude our investigation. Charges are already being compiled against him. We’re not bittered. This is not persecution, we’re just doing our job,” the source said.

TIMIPRE SYLVA

The former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, beyond having questions to answer, was also declared wanted over an alleged case of conspiracy and dishonest conversion of US$14,859,257.

In a public notice, the EFCC said the funds were provided by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board for Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical.

The notice read in part, “The public is hereby notified that Timipre Sylva, a former Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, and former Governor of Bayelsa State, whose photograph appears above is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an alleged case of conspiracy and dishonest conversion of $14,859,257-part of funds injected by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) into Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited for the construction of a refinery.

HADI SIRIKA

In April, 2024, the EFCC took the former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, into custody in connection with an ongoing investigation related to money laundering amounting to N8,069,176,864.00.

GODWIN EMEFIELE

The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin is another right-hand man of former President Buhari, who apart from his alleged corruption, has a typical bone to grind with the current president.

Emefiele was instrumental to the withdrawal of cash during the 2023 election; a move the Tinubu camp believed it was solely targeted at their campaign train and endeavors.

Emefiele was first arrested in 2023 shortly after the end of the Buhari administration. He was charged for alleged abuse of office and large-scale financial impropriety during his tenure.

In 2024, a Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the interim forfeiture of over $4.7m, ₦830m, and several properties allegedly linked to him, while another court later granted the final forfeiture of assets valued at more than ₦12bn.

In 2025, EFCC announced that the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja has admitted additional evidence in the ongoing trial over an alleged $4.5bn fraud.

Emefiele, who appears to be the landlord of all offences allegedly committed under the Buhari administration, is facing a 19-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, accusing him of soliciting and receiving illegal gratifications.

He has been in custody since 2023.

So far, and in as much as Nigerians are divided as regards the reasons behind the clampdown, none of them has been found guilty. While a cross section of Nigerians believe the former officers have a case to answer, some others are of the opinion that a sort of vendetta exercise is in the works. This is because no visible Buhari official except Festus Keyamo, made it to the Tinubu era in ad much as both leaders were in the same political party.

More on these cases will come to light in the coming days as trials resume.

The Senate has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to deploy troops to Benin Republic over botched coup in the West African nation, about 72 hours after Nigeria Airforce took control of Benin airspace, following the sitting president’s request for assistance.

Tinubu’s request was conveyed in a letter read by the Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on Tuesday, December 9.

The president said the action was based on Section 5(5) of the 1999 Constitution, which requires presidential consultation with the Senate before sending the armed forces on combat missions outside the country.

“Pursuant to Section 5 (5) Part 2 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, I seek, further to consultation with the National Defence Council, the consent of the Senate for the deployment of Nigerian troops to the Republic of Benin,” he wrote.

He noted that the request followed an urgent appeal from President Patrice Talon, who sought immediate air support to repel an attempted unconstitutional seizure of power.

Tinubu further urged the lawmakers to act swiftly, citing the close relationship between Nigeria and Benin and the collective security obligations under ECOWAS.

“This request is made further to a request received from the Government of Benin Republic for the exceptional and immediate provision of air support by the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The distinguished Senate may wish to note that the Government of the Republic of Benin is currently faced with an attempted unconstitutional seizure of power and disruption and destabilisation of democratic institutions,” he stated.

He stressed that the situation in Benin required urgent external support to stabilise democratic institutions.

“The situation, as reported by the Government of Benin, requires urgent external intervention. The distinguished Senate considers the close ties of brotherhood and friendship which exist between Nigeria and the Republic of Benin, as well as the principles of collective security upheld within ECOWAS.

“It is our duty to provide the support as requested by the Government of the Republic of Benin. While it is my hope that the Senate will consider and approve this request expeditiously, please accept, distinguished Senate President, distinguished senators, the assurances of my highest consideration and personal regards,” he added.

The Senate consequently approved the request.

On Sunday, December 7, a group of soldiers appeared on Benin’s state television. They seized power and declared that they had dissolved the government in what appeared to be another coup in West Africa.

Identifying themselves as the Military Committee for Refoundation, they announced the ousting of the president and the dissolution of all state institutions, adding that Pascal Tigri, a lieutenant colonel, had been named as the head of the committee.

The mutiny triggered hours of tension across the country as loyal security forces worked to restore order and secure key state institutions. Authorities say several of the coup plotters were arrested, while others were being hunted.

Reacting to the development, Tinubu praised the Nigerian Armed Forces for their rapid intervention, which aided loyalist forces to dislodge the soldiers who had taken over the national television station and declared Talon’s ouster.

According to a statement signed by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Beninese government formally sought Nigeria’s military support through two separate communications after the coup plotters announced the suspension of democratic institutions.

Tinubu, said while acting on the request, he ordered Nigerian Air Force fighter jets to take control of Benin’s airspace and assist in flushing out the mutineers from strategic locations, including the national broadcaster and a military camp.

Talon, who has been in office since 2016, had been expected to leave office next April – 2026, at the end of his second term in 2026 – the maximum allowed by the constitution, after the upcoming presidential election.

The attempted coup adds to a troubling pattern of political instability in West Africa, where Niger, Burkina Faso, and Guinea-Bissau have all recently experienced military takeovers or attempted uprisings.

Following the increasing coups in the West African sub-region, the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS) declared a state of emergency on political situations in the region on Tuesday.

The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, made the declaration during the 55th session of the Mediation and Security Council, at the ministerial level in Abuja.

Source: ICIR