ABUJA, Nigeria — Aminu Waziri Tambuwal — former Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives and governor of Sokoto State from 2015 to 2023 — was this morning questioned at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) headquarters in Abuja amid explosive allegations of unauthorised cash withdrawals totalling ₦189 billion.
The probe, according to sources, centres on transactions said to flout the Money Laundering (Prohibition & Prevention) Act, 2022.
A senior EFCC source who spoke on condition of anonymity told journalists the investigation has been running for months and that Tambuwal arrived at the anti-graft agency’s Lagos/Abuja command around mid-morning.
Officials have reportedly been poring over account movements and “unusual transactions” dating to his tenure — material the source says suggests a pattern of cash withdrawals channelled to private accounts rather than approved state expenditure lines.
The EFCC’s public relations office declined to comment while the interrogation is ongoing.
If the allegations are proven, they would mark one of the most consequential state-level corruption probes in recent memory — the ₦189 billion figure eclipses many high-profile cases brought before Nigerian courts and would raise urgent questions about internal controls and bank reporting in state governments.
The EFCC’s deployment of the 2022 Money Laundering Act in the matter signals the agency’s intent to treat the case under the tougher post-2022 regime, which broadened the definition and penalties for illicit cash disbursements and suspicious transfers.
Tambuwal is no political lightweight. He served as Speaker of the House (2011–2015), then as Sokoto State governor (2015–2023), and is a senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) figure. Those credentials have, in the past, placed him squarely in the national spotlight — and they make today’s developments politically combustible.
Supporters will point to his record and prior denials of wrongdoing; critics will argue that an investigation of this scale confirms long-standing rumours of financial impropriety in sub-national governments.
Tambuwal and his aides have previously rejected similar claims. In 2022, when allegations about a ₦189 billion diversion first surfaced in some online reports, the governor’s office described the stories as “false in all material particulars” and dismissed them as politically motivated.
That denial will almost certainly be dusted off by Tambuwal’s camp as today’s interrogation is digested.
A rapid historical comparison underlines the stakes: large-scale state-level financial scandals have long coloured Nigeria’s governance record and fuelled calls for stronger fiscal transparency.
The scale attributed to this probe — nearly two hundred billion naira — would sit alongside some of the country’s most notorious resource-leak cases and would intensify demands for forensic audits across other states.
It would also put pressure on banks, auditors and the Federal Government to explain how such withdrawals were processed and what oversight failed.
What happens next is unpredictable but decisive. The EFCC could move from interrogation to charge if investigators believe there is sufficient evidence; alternately, the agency might release Tambuwal on administrative bail pending further action.
Either outcome will prompt legal manoeuvring and a sustained political noise — not least because Tambuwal remains a heavyweight within the PDP and a figure with national ambitions.
For now, the public must await the EFCC’s formal statement and any court filings that may follow.
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