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Opinion: Corona Blues by Reuben Abati

Published

6 years ago

April 7, 2020

Editor

By Reuben Abati

“Social distancing is a privilege. It means you live in a house large enough to practise it. Hand washing is a privilege too. It means you have access to running water. Hand sanitisers are a privilege. It means you have money to buy them. Lockdowns are a privilege. It means you can afford to be at home. Most of the ways to ward the Corona off are accessible only to the affluent. In essence, a disease that was spread by the rich as they flew around the globe will kill millions of the poor. All of us who are practising social distancing and have imposed a lock down on ourselves must appreciate how privileged we are. Many…won’t ve able to do any of this” – Jayshree Shukla, India, March 22, 2020.

To the relief of many Nigerians who had been inundated with conspiracy theories about the status and whereabouts of President Muhammadu Buhari, and his level of involvement in the war against COVID-19, the President, obviously in response to pervasive public opinion addressed the nation in a televised broadcast on Sunday, March 29, more than a month after the first index case in Nigeria was reported. As at the time of that broadcast, the country already recorded 97 confirmed cases and 2 deaths. This was a jump of more than 400% in one week. The numbers kept increasing. Fear gripped the land. Whereas Africa had significantly low numbers compared to the numbers of confirmed cases and deaths in Europe and the United States, African countries faced a similar exponential rise in COVID-19 figures. With the fragile health systems in Africa and shortage of medical personnel, many African countries were compelled to ramp up their COVID-19 containment measures. President Buhari’s broadcast could not have been more auspicious: a better late than never effort nonetheless. He provided an outline of all the measures that had been introduced so far by the Nigerian Government to stem the tide of COVID-19. He also announced additional measures to protect livelihoods, businesses and the Nigerian economy.

There were many grey areas in the President’s speech, but it was obvious that the government was going through a learning curve. How for example would Nigerians access the cash transfers that was promised? Schools across the nation are all on holiday, yet the President announced a school-feeding programme? Attempts have since been made to either modify or clarify some of the grey areas. The biggest of all the measures, and the most far-reaching is the announcement of a cessation of all movements in Lagos, and Ogun states and the Federal Capital Territory for an initial period of 14 days with effect from 11 pm on Monday, 30^th March 2020. “All citizens in these areas are to stay in their homes.” Food processing, distribution and retail companies, petroleum distribution and retail entities, power generation transmission and distribution companies, media workers, seaports and private security companies were exempted. The lock-down became effective as directed, except in Ogun State which asked to be allowed to commence its own lock-down on Friday, April 3 to allow the people to stock up on food and other items. President Buhari singled out Lagos, and the FCT because these are the two areas with the highest number of COVID-19 cases, and Ogun – because of its proximity to Lagos. As it turned out, state Governors also took the initiative to either declare a curfew in their states or shut down their borders. There has been a race to set up isolation centres across the various states.

The lockdown in Nigeria is meant to enforce social distancing, and to check the spread of COVID-19, a measure that has been adopted globally to prevent persons from transmitting the disease. But here in Nigeria, the lock down has done more in terms of exposing and highlighting the character of our people, their circumstances, the attitude of state agents and the socio-political implications of the initiative. This has prompted calls for an African solution to COVID-19, and the description of social or physical distancing as an imported Western response. Africans by nature are communal; they are brought up to imbibe the philosophy of “ubuntu”: that is “I am, because we are”, and this is expressed in various forms: they eat together, indeed in many cultures, out of the same plate or bowl. They are happier when they are in a gathering either in the villages or in the cities. To ask an average African to lock himself up at home could be an inversion of his social reality. Even if it is possible for the mentally colonized middle and upper middle classes in Africa to observe social distancing at home and outside, it is near-impossible for the poor. The rich live in comfortable neighbourhoods, in flats, mansions or duplexes with small household units of not more than 4 or 5 persons, the poor live in slums and rural areas where they are huddled together in one room, or a room-and-parlour, in a six or eight-room building occupied by probably eight families, with each family having a minimum of six children, and all the tenants have at best access to just one communal bathroom, one toilet, and a well in the yard as source of water supply. In the rural areas, most families live inside a small hut. It is probably better to disperse such persons than to ask them to stay at home in the face of a communicable and deadly disease like COVID-19.

Besides, many Africans earn their living on a daily basis. They are farmers or fishermen or traders who must go to work in the morning to survive. Sub-Saharan African countries do not have social safety nets, the types that exist in developed countries. In Nigeria, more than half of the population lives below the poverty line. Over 40 million persons are unemployed or underemployed. They have no access to food stamps or unemployment benefits. For these persons, life is a daily struggle. Even the employed are either under-paid and over-worked and their salaries and pensions are not paid as and when due. The other problem is that not many Africans believe in science: they are committed to traditional, superstitious beliefs: the animistic belief that there is no problem that cannot be solved spiritually through witchcraft, sorcery or the use of herbs and rituals, or the religious conviction that pastors and imams have the powers to solve any human problem. Getting such persons to respect science is a problem. In Osun State, for example, one Corona patient ran away from the isolation centre. He had to be hunted down and brought back by security agents. Poverty and ignorance complicate the people’s situation. The worst part is that the people do not trust their governments. This alienation between the people and their leaders makes the management of COVID-19 in Africa far more challenging.

By the third day of the lock-down in Lagos State, the chickens had come home to roost. On the first day, there was relative calm as people generally tried to obey the stay-at-home order. On the second day, Lagosians had begun to complain, and rebel. I saw young men on the streets, playing football. Or simply walking up and down. On Wednesday, April 1, the Federal Government modified the directive by declaring that shops and supermarkets could be open from 10 am to 4 pm, and food markets from 10 am to 2 pm. It was a rather strange announcement because there was nothing said about how people are supposed to access the shops and supermarkets, since the ban on transportation was not lifted. What was meant to be a form of relief for the people ended up fuelling their anger. In parts of the country some state governments set up emergency food relief centres and embarked on the distribution of food items. Private individuals and non-governmental organisations also provided food and water in various places which in principle is a demonstration of public-spiritedness, but the relief efforts, public and private, were poorly co-ordinated.

The poor fell over each other to collect packs of food or COVID food items, without observing social distancing. Government officials in Lagos State ended up receiving condemnation rather than praise. The people protested that they would rather be out on the streets to seek their own food and survival. One woman, a mother of four, disclosed on television that all she had left was N700, which is less than two dollars. The President announced cash transfers but we have only seen some government officials distributing raw cash. The Private Sector Coalition against COVID-19 and some individuals have raised as much as N19. 9 billion, but the poor people of Nigeria are more concerned about the risk of part of the funds ending up in the pockets of government officials.

Many Nigerians remain in denial, both rich and poor. They don’t understand why they should be told to stay at home or maintain social distance. In Cross River State, the Governor has made the wearing of facial masks compulsory for every one in the state, with penalties for disobedience. It is a way of forcing the people to realise that in these unusual times, health safety guidelines must be obeyed. The people’s reluctance to do so, has brought them in conflict with the security agencies. On Friday, April 3, a strong-headed Muslim cleric decided to hold evening prayers in Agege, Lagos in violation of the lockdown order. The worshippers were dispersed by security agents. Market women who did not obey the rules have also been forced to comply. On Sunday, April 5, the police arrested a celebrity actress and her husband for staging a crowded house party in Lagos. They have been charged to court and convicted.

The only problem here is the high-handedness of the security agents. Rather than help the people through persuasion and advice, they have for the most part resorted to force. In Warri, Delta State, a soldier shot and killed a man who allegedly refused to stop at a checkpoint when he was flagged down. In Lagos, two soldiers in a recorded video that went viral, threatened to rape women and infect them with HIV for daring to challenge the military. In Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, a Police Sergeant assaulted and broke the arm of a medical doctor who insisted he was out and about on essential duty. The situation is the same in Uganda where security forces have been accused of excessive use of force. The best way to save the people from themselves is not by killing or maiming them. African governments must resist the temptation to use the excuse of COVID-19 to further dehumanize the people. In Botswana, however, where a 28-day lockdown has been declared, the people are complying without the security forces having to enforce the order. Different scenarios in Africa depending on the level of trust between the state and the people and the level of engagement. What is important is that the enforcement of lockdowns must be strictly within the ambit of the enabling laws.

State authorities must be careful not to ignite a social crisis that may result in riots and mass revolt. Rather than take advantage of the people, because of the lockdown, security agencies should pay more attention to a likely rise in crime and social unease. One woman was on television the other day to lament that someone stole her pot of soup in the communal building where she lives. She had left the kitchen briefly. By the time she returned, her pot of soup had vanished! That is how it starts. For as long as the lockdown persists, without sustainable support from government, people will steal food and other things in order to survive. African leaders may end up paying a bigger price for neglecting their people over the years and for failing to build strong institutions.

Steps should also be taken to stem the tide of infodemic, that is the alarming spread of misinformation. On Saturday, while taking notes for this commentary, I was bombarded with stories about how Corona Virus is linked to the 5G communication technology. I learnt that 5G masts were already being destroyed in the UK by angry citizens. Before I could investigate this any further, I received an international call from a very jovial friend:

“My brother,” he said. “I greet you Coronally, Coronally”.

“Ore, compliments of the Corona season oh,” I responded.

“A ku lockdown oh”

“I hope you are good at your end. Please keep safe.”

Then all of a sudden I thought I heard something that sounded like a cough at the other end. I didn’t know when I threw my phone away on the bed. I had just read about 5G and the internet of things (IOT) and the likelihood of a radiation tsunami. What if it is true as alleged that viruses can travel electronically?

“E ma wa ko ba mi jare? If you know you have a cough, or you are sneezing, don’t call me on phone! It is not good to take chances with this heartless COVID-19,” I muttered.

The truth has since been told about 5G by those who should know. It is not the anti-Christ. It is not the Corona Virus. People are just so hysterical, one of the ways they try to cope is to just make up stories perhaps to manage the terror of time and uncertainty. Some Nigerians insist for example, that Nigeria should not seek the assistance of Chinese medical experts or accept any donations of test kits or ventilators from any foreign source. They think there may be a covert attempt to turn Nigerians into guinea pigs. After all, two French doctors – Jean-Paul Mira and Camille Locht – openly identified Africa as the best testing ground for possible COVID-19 drugs. Race is a worrisome dimension of the Corona Virus debate.

So is the spike in cases of domestic violence and gender-based abuse. Lockdowns ordinarily should strengthen filial relationships especially between husbands and wives, but the opposite has been reported in France, the UK, Spain, the United States… and even here in Nigeria. Self-isolation and social distancing seem to be putting all relationships on trial. Even commercial sex workers have registered their displeasure! On April 1, we forgot to play pranks. On Palm Sunday, the churches opted for elegies, instead of odes. Our world is unravelling.

Headline

Tinubu Didn’t Win 2023 Election, Will Lose in 2027 – Abaribe

Published

6 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Eric

The lawmaker representing Abia South Senatorial District, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, has predicted that it would be impossible for President Bola Tinubu to win second termn in the 2027 presidential election.

Abaribe, who claimed that the President never won the 2023 election, said the level of hardship Nigerians are currently facing has made them more determined to ensure that Tinubu does not return as president after 2027.

Reacting to suggestions that Tinubu has never lost an election, Abaribe, who appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, said, “I do not think so. Everybody loses elections, and you will see when the time comes. He will lose in 2027 because I know what Nigerians are feeling outside.”

He added: “Tinubu never won the 2023 election, and everybody knows it. But we said fine, he has been declared the winner, no problem. We acknowledge him as president, but we are going to meet him in the field, and I will see how he is going to cobble together what will make him win again.

“It won’t work, because this time everybody will be ready. It will no longer be an announcement at 3am before people wake up in the morning. This time, people are ready; we are ready, and the masses are even more ready.”

The senator, who said the economy has collapsed under Tinubu and that the president has yet to solve the problem of insecurity, wondered where he would get the votes to win in 2027.

On the defection of some opposition leaders to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abaribe vowed never to join the wave, saying he would be the last person to do so.

He said that rather than strengthening the APC as a party, the defections would deepen internal divisions and fuel leadership tussles.

“If there is anybody who is going to defect to the APC, I think I should be the very, very last one. By the time I defect, it would mean there are no parties left in Nigeria, including the APC,” he said.

“I have a very simple theory about defections. I think it is very good for us in the opposition that these defections are happening. All the APC is doing is absorbing all the problems it is going to face; they are right inside the party now. Ask yourself, in all the states where there are defections, what is going on there now?”

The lawmaker described the APC as a giant with feet of clay, saying the opposition would target its weak points during the election, leading to its collapse.

Abaribe, who reaffirmed his membership of the opposition coalition, said there is a consensus among opposition leaders to unite in order to dislodge the APC from power.

The coalition has adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the platform for the 2027 elections, but many have claimed the move is a strategy to enthrone Atiku Abubakar and compel all opposition members to support him.

However, Abaribe disagreed, saying the party has yet to release its guidelines and other arrangements ahead of the 2027 elections.

Headline

Threat Against Nigeria’s Multi-Party Democracy: Atiku, Obi, George, Others Accuse Tinubu of Plot to Annihilate Opposition

Published

2 days ago

December 14, 2025

Eric

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

Headline

Corruption! Tinubu Tackles ‘Buhari Boys’

Published

2 days ago

December 14, 2025

Eric

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.