Former Sokoto governor and current senator walks free after an EFCC grilling over alleged ₦189 billion withdrawals — but critics say the probe exposes politics as much as graft.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday questioned and released Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal after an interrogation that sources say centred on alleged irregular withdrawals totalling about ₦189 billion linked to Sokoto State accounts.
The initial report of Tambuwal’s detention and swift release was carried by SaharaReporters and later confirmed by mainstream outlets.
According to EFCC sources briefed by reporters, Tambuwal arrived at the Commission’s Jabi, Abuja, office in the late morning and spent hours under questioning about “unusual transactions” and multiple cash withdrawals the agency says may breach the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Investigators told journalists the probe spans several years and multiple state accounts — a probe that sources say will involve further summonses and forensic scrutiny of bank records.
The allegation — if proven — would be headline-grabbing. Yet Tambuwal’s release highlights a paradox at the heart of Nigeria’s anti-graft campaign: an agency that boasts dramatic recoveries and thousands of convictions, but which critics say acts selectively.
The EFCC itself highlights major recent recoveries and conviction figures in official releases; last year its public statement celebrated thousands of convictions and large sums recovered.
Opposition figures and some civil society groups were quick to frame Tambuwal’s case as political theatre. Former vice-president Atiku Abubakar described recent EFCC activity as a partisan weapon, arguing the Commission is being deployed against government critics.
Political parties and commentators have repeatedly accused the EFCC of reopening decade-old files selectively, while allegedly sparing allies of the ruling party — an accusation the ADC and others have publicly levelled in recent days.
But there is also a sober procedural trail. Past EFCC investigations that led to prosecution have, at times, revealed complex laundering chains: multi-layered transfers, use of private companies as conduits, and co-mingling of personal and state funds.
Analysts point out that allegations of ₦189 billion — a sum equivalent to serious disruptions in state-level capital projects — require meticulous documentary and bank-evidence work, which typically extends investigations for months or years.
Independent reviews have also questioned whether aggressive investigations consistently yield sustained convictions; watchdog analyses show variance in outcomes across years.
Tambuwal — once Speaker of the House of Representatives and governor of Sokoto between 2015 and 2023 — has a long political record and a substantial public profile.
His supporters flooded social platforms after his release, framing the episode as vindication; critics argue the narrative will not disappear even if the senator remains free pending further EFCC steps.
What comes next is predictable — and politically perilous. The EFCC will examine bank statements, contracts and payment vouchers; lawyers for Tambuwal will press for procedural safeguards and insist on evidence before conviction in the court of public opinion.
For Nigerians weary of both corruption and political witch-hunts, this case will be read two ways: as a hard-look at state finances, or as another chapter in the weaponisation of law enforcement.
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