{"id":121394,"date":"2025-08-12T18:50:25","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T17:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=121394"},"modified":"2025-08-12T18:50:25","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T17:50:25","slug":"political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/","title":{"rendered":"Political Motive Behind EFCC’s Move To Probe\u00a0 Mark, Ihedioha- ADC"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
By Myke Agunwa, Abuja<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
The recent crackdown on opposition leaders by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has sparked allegations that the agency is being used by President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressive Congress (APC) to intimidate and weaken political rivalry ahead of the 2027 general election.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Following Monday\u2019s detention of one of the leaders of the coalition and former Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, and the invitation to Imo State Government officials to \u201curgently\u201d provide information on the seven-month tenure of former Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) said it is clear that the anti-graft agency is out on a hatchet job, a choreographed media trial targeted at bringing coalition leaders to disrepute.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC questioned the rationale behind the \u201curgent\u201d reason to investigate David Mark, the Chairman of the coalition party, 10 years after leaving the Senate Presidency; Ihedioha more than five years after his brief tenure as governor; and Tambuwal two years after leaving office as Sokoto governor. The party said the pattern of ignoring APC stalwarts with fresher and well-documented cases, while targeting opposition figures with stale allegations, is proof of selective justice and an assault on political freedom.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
According to ADC, \u201cThe detention of one of our leaders, former Sokoto State governor, Senator Aminu Tambuwal, has marked the start of the crackdown intended to intimidate key leaders of the opposition and discredit them through media trials.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cAs shown in an EFCC correspondence currently circulating online, the Commission has now embarked on the investigation of another coalition chieftain, former Imo Governor, Emeka Ihedioha, with an \u201curgent\u201d request to the officials to provide information related specifically to his brief seven months in office\u201d.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The party said that Ihedioha, the former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, served as Governor of Imo State for just 7 months, from May 29, 2019, until the Supreme Court removed him on January 14, 2020, about five years and seven months ago. The party wondered what makes investigating him suddenly \u201curgent\u201d.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cMost notably, the EFCC has now surreptitiously started excavating all the files from the ADC Chairman, Senator David Mark\u2019s tenure as President of the Nigerian Senate. Let us remind Nigerians that our Party Chairman, Senator Mark, served as the Senate President for 8 years, from June 6, 2007, to June 6, 2015, making him the longest-serving Senate President in our history. He left office 10 years and 2 months ago. Three Senate Presidents after, the EFCC suddenly remembered that he was a Senate President\u201d.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
While the ADC stands for adherence to the rule of law and due process, it expressed curiosity over the timing, the selective targets, and political motivations that now seem to define the EFCC\u2019s actions. \u201cA fight against corruption that begins and ends with the opposition is not justice \u2014 it is persecution. We have no doubts that this is witch-hunting; it is the APC government weaponising anti-corruption to do its political battle.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cHaving failed to stop the coalition, the jittery ruling party\u2019s next move is to discredit its leaders by getting the EFCC to accuse them of looting the entire treasuries. These are calculated media trials, which start and end with the accusation, the scandal, and the consequent lowering of public estimation. It matters little whether there is a basis for these accusations \u2014 the game is the circus show\u201d ADC said.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Maintaining that the EFCC is carrying out the bidding of the ruling party, the ADC raised some questions: \u201cIf corruption truly has no statute of limitation, why are the EFCC\u2019s files on APC\u2019s own \u201cbig men,\u201d many with fresher, documented cases, gathering dust in forgotten drawers? Why does the EFCC only discover \u201curgent\u201d anti-corruption zeal when an opposition leader becomes a political threat?<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cThe truth is simple. These are not fresh investigations \u2014 they are political manoeuvres, cynical attempts to intimidate and weaken credible opposition voices ahead of the 2027 elections. The APC\u2019s EFCC does not touch its own while they are in office or when they defect to the ruling party. Once a former governor crosses over, their files vanish like morning dew. Since Ifeanyi Okowa joined the APC, have Nigerians heard a single whisper from the EFCC about his cases? Yet opposition leaders are hounded with allegations from decades past without a shred of new evidence\u201d.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The opposition party argued that what the EFCC is doing on behalf of the APC government is anti-democracy. \u201cEvery time the EFCC is deployed as a political bulldog, it tramples on public trust and shreds the credibility of our justice system.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The party called on Nigerians to speak up, to resist, and to demand that the EFCC should stop the witch-hunting in the interest of our democracy.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Myke Agunwa, Abuja The recent crackdown on opposition leaders by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has sparked allegations that the agency is being used by President Bola…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":112201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nPolitical Motive Behind EFCC's Move To Probe\u00a0 Mark, Ihedioha- ADC - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Political Motive Behind EFCC's Move To Probe\u00a0 Mark, Ihedioha- ADC - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Myke Agunwa, Abuja The recent crackdown on opposition leaders by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has sparked allegations that the agency is being used by President Bola…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-12T17:50:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AFRICAN-DEMOCRATIC-CONGRESS-ADC-LOGO-PIX.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"554\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"headline\":\"Political Motive Behind EFCC’s Move To Probe\u00a0 Mark, Ihedioha- ADC\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-12T17:50:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/\"},\"wordCount\":799,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AFRICAN-DEMOCRATIC-CONGRESS-ADC-LOGO-PIX.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/\",\"name\":\"Political Motive Behind EFCC's Move To Probe\u00a0 Mark, Ihedioha- ADC - Pointblank News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AFRICAN-DEMOCRATIC-CONGRESS-ADC-LOGO-PIX.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-12T17:50:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AFRICAN-DEMOCRATIC-CONGRESS-ADC-LOGO-PIX.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AFRICAN-DEMOCRATIC-CONGRESS-ADC-LOGO-PIX.jpg\",\"width\":554,\"height\":480},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Political Motive Behind EFCC’s Move To Probe\u00a0 Mark, Ihedioha- ADC\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\",\"name\":\"Pointblank News\",\"description\":\"Just the news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\",\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Our Reporter\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Political Motive Behind EFCC's Move To Probe\u00a0 Mark, Ihedioha- ADC - Pointblank News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Political Motive Behind EFCC's Move To Probe\u00a0 Mark, Ihedioha- ADC - Pointblank News","og_description":"By Myke Agunwa, Abuja The recent crackdown on opposition leaders by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has sparked allegations that the agency is being used by President Bola…","og_url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/","og_site_name":"Pointblank News","article_published_time":"2025-08-12T17:50:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":554,"height":480,"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AFRICAN-DEMOCRATIC-CONGRESS-ADC-LOGO-PIX.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Our Reporter","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Our Reporter","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/"},"author":{"name":"Our Reporter","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"headline":"Political Motive Behind EFCC’s Move To Probe\u00a0 Mark, Ihedioha- ADC","datePublished":"2025-08-12T17:50:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/"},"wordCount":799,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AFRICAN-DEMOCRATIC-CONGRESS-ADC-LOGO-PIX.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/","name":"Political Motive Behind EFCC's Move To Probe\u00a0 Mark, Ihedioha- ADC - Pointblank News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AFRICAN-DEMOCRATIC-CONGRESS-ADC-LOGO-PIX.jpg","datePublished":"2025-08-12T17:50:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AFRICAN-DEMOCRATIC-CONGRESS-ADC-LOGO-PIX.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AFRICAN-DEMOCRATIC-CONGRESS-ADC-LOGO-PIX.jpg","width":554,"height":480},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/political-motive-behind-efccs-move-to-probe-mark-ihedioha-adc\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Political Motive Behind EFCC’s Move To Probe\u00a0 Mark, Ihedioha- ADC"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/","name":"Pointblank News","description":"Just the news","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c","name":"Our Reporter","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Our Reporter"},"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121394"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121394\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121395,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121394\/revisions\/121395"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}