Former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has challenged President Bola Tinubu to direct the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to release former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai if anti-corruption agencies truly operate under presidential influence.
El-Rufai has remained in ICPC custody since February 19 over allegations of financial misconduct during his tenure as Kaduna governor between 2015 and 2023.
The former governor was arraigned by the commission on April 13 before the Kaduna High Court on an amended nine-count charge bordering on alleged fraud and abuse of office.
‘TINUBU CAN’T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS’
Atiku said Tinubu’s recent directive to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to lift the restriction placed on the Osun State Government’s bank accounts had weakened claims that anti-graft agencies function independently.
On Thursday, Tinubu instructed the EFCC to return to court and withdraw the order freezing Osun government accounts, stating that while the commission acted within its legal powers, the timing of the action — shortly before the August 15 governorship election — was inappropriate.
In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, his senior special assistant on public communication, Atiku said the president’s intervention had exposed what he described as the “myth” surrounding the EFCC’s operational independence.
The former vice-president questioned Tinubu’s claim that the EFCC obtained a court order before freezing the accounts, noting that the commission did not reference any court order in its explanation of the action.
“President Tinubu’s statement has raised more questions than it has answered,” Atiku said.
“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.
“Yet the President’s intervention is predicated entirely on the existence of such a court order, which he claims to have directed the EFCC to vacate.
“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 Tinubu could not claim non-interference in EFCC affairs while also directing the commission to halt its action.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
‘DIRECT ICPC TO RELEASE EL-RUFAI’
Atiku said Tinubu’s intervention in the Osun account matter had created a constitutional and moral responsibility to apply the same approach in other cases involving anti-corruption agencies.
“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.
“Executive power cannot be invoked selectively for political convenience while institutional independence is cited only when it suits the Presidency.”
The ADC presidential candidate said the credibility of Nigeria’s anti-corruption institutions and the rule of law were at stake.
He added that while reversing the restriction on Osun government accounts may help reduce political tension ahead of the governorship election, it did not address questions surrounding why the action was initiated.
“The unanswered questions remain: 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 said.