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| Nasir el-Rufai being confronted by officials of the EFCC at the airport |
Former Nigerian Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain Atiku Abubakar has slammed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for a brazen, due-process-free attempt to arrest former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai at Abuja International Airport on Thursday, February 12, 2026.
In a sharp statement from his Abuja media office, Atiku decried the “crude and unorthodox” operation by EFCC operatives, calling it a blatant disregard for legal norms aimed at crushing the morale of ADC supporters.
"While I support the anti-corruption effort in the country (having been pivotal in setting up the commission), I am worried about the politicisation of arrests that disproportionately target opposition leaders, especially the ADC since it came into being," Atiku said.
He noted that the fanatical zeal the EFCC has been going after ADC coalition figures is a deviation from its constitutional mandate.
He pointed out that the EFCC was not established to be a political tool of the president or the ruling party, adding "if we continue on this path, the EFCC will lose credibility and compromise its independence."
Atiku recalled that the Uwais Panel on Electoral Reforms specifically recommended that the EFCC chairman should be answerable to the Chief Justice of Nigeria in order to protect its independence.
The former vice president, however, regretted that the implementation panel set up by the Umaru Musa Yar'Adua administration failed to adopt the recommendation of the Uwais Panel on the independence of the EFCC.
Atiku reminded the EFCC leadership to rise above partisanship and focus on the larger public interest, warning that "governments come and go" and that "the agency's loyalty to the constitution should not be sacrificed on the altar of partisan bias and interest.
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