Alleged N189bn Fraud: EFCC Frees Tambuwal After One Night In Detention

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has released former Sokoto State Governor and current Senator representing Sokoto South, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, after holding him overnight over allegations of massive cash withdrawals totaling ₦189 billion.

Tambuwal, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives and two-term Sokoto governor, arrived at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja around 11 a.m. on Monday, where he was detained and grilled by investigators. Sources familiar with the case confirmed that he was freed on Tuesday.

EFCC Investigators accuse the senator of breaching provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, through large-scale cash withdrawals allegedly executed during his governorship. The EFCC has yet to issue an official statement on the matter.

The development has sparked political controversy. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in 2023, strongly condemned Tambuwal’s detention, describing it as an act of political intimidation by President Bola Tinubu’s administration ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In a post on X, Atiku alleged that the EFCC is being “weaponised” to pressure opposition figures into defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). He claimed that corruption allegations against politicians are often dropped once they join the APC.

“The only reason the EFCC has detained the former Governor of Sokoto State, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, is because he is a member of the opposition coalition,” Atiku wrote. “It is a continuation of the Tinubu-led administration’s agenda to harass, intimidate, and decimate the opposition.”

The former vice president warned that politicising anti-graft agencies undermines Nigeria’s institutions and emboldens corruption. He also accused the EFCC of playing a role in “emptying” opposition governors into the APC through intimidation.

“That, certainly, is not how to fight the monster of corruption,” Atiku added, urging Nigerians, civil society, and the international community to resist the alleged misuse of the anti-corruption fight as a political weapon.

He vowed that the opposition coalition would stand firm against any “anti-democratic machinations” aimed at turning Nigeria into a one-party state.