By Abigail David
Former Vice President 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, following the President’s directive to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to lift the freeze on the Osun State Government’s bank accounts.
In a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said Tinubu’s intervention in the Osun matter raised questions about the independence of Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies.
According to the former vice president, if the President could instruct the EFCC to return to court and discontinue its action against the Osun State Government, he should not claim to be unable to influence the actions of the ICPC in El-Rufai’s case.
Atiku also questioned the differing accounts surrounding the EFCC’s action, asking whether the commission had obtained a court order before freezing the Osun government’s accounts. He argued that conflicting public statements from government officials required clarification.
He further maintained that directing an anti-corruption agency to alter its course of action while insisting on its operational independence raised concerns about institutional autonomy.
According to Atiku, the controversy extends beyond the Osun account freeze and touches on public confidence in Nigeria’s anti-corruption framework. He added that reversing the freeze shortly before the Osun governorship election did not address broader concerns about the consistency and independence of law enforcement institutions.
The comments follow President Tinubu’s directive to the EFCC to seek the vacation of the court order freezing Osun State’s accounts, saying the timing of the action could undermine public confidence in the electoral process ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
