Buhari is using EFCC to persecute Saraki – Atiku

Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday said the President Muhammadu Buhari’s led Federal Government is using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to persecute the immediate past Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, hiding under the gamut of prosecution.

Abubakar, in a statement said he stood against corruption in government, which was why his office personally facilitated the take-off of the EFCC, with a loan, after that most important anti-corruption institution was founded by then President Olusegun Obasanjo.

“However, there is a huge difference between prosecution and persecution. I am all for prosecuting the corrupt, but I believe it is wrong to use the instruments of state to persecute political opponents.

“Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, the immediate past Senate President, is one of the most investigated politicians in Nigeria. He has been investigated and prosecuted all the way to the Supreme Court and has prevailed against his accusers. It was expected that that should have been the end of the matter.

“However, the revival of previously investigated cases, and the fact that Dr. Saraki was politically opposed to the administration of General Muhammadu Buhari seems to give strong grounds for objective bystanders to conclude that his current travails have gone beyond prosecution and are now tending towards persecution,” he said.

According to him, the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria were made for all and that the people fought for democracy so that the powers of the state would not be used to suborn tyranny and oppression.

He urged Saraki to stand firm and take solace in the fact Nigerians still held the constitution higher than any other authority.

“I urge all Nigerians, and especially those tasked with upholding the constitution and the laws of the land, to note that silence in the face of oppression is akin to acquiescence. I, Atiku Abubakar, will always stand up for the constitution and Nigeria,” he said.