By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Onyekachukwu
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has alleged that some opposition politicians are plotting to weaken Nigeria’s anti-corruption war as the 2027 general elections draw closer.
The Commission said it uncovered a coordinated plan to launch sustained attacks and smear campaigns against its Chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, with the aim of frustrating ongoing investigations and prosecutions involving politically exposed persons.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, EFCC spokesman, Mr. Dele Oyewale, said the agency had become aware of deliberate attempts to distract and intimidate it through what he described as “phantom allegations of political bias.”
Oyewale alleged that a network of “paid jobbers” comprising politicians, academics, self-styled civil society actors and some Nigerian fugitives in the diaspora had been mobilised to discredit the Commission and its leadership.
According to him, the strategy is to brand the EFCC as partisan in order to pressure it into avoiding investigations involving opposition figures.
“Their objective is to befuddle the work of the Commission and intimidate it into a timid mode where it will be afraid to investigate opposition politicians,” the statement said, adding that the campaign is expected to intensify as the 2027 elections approach.
The EFCC warned that it would not remain passive in the face of such moves, stressing that those behind the alleged plot were under close surveillance.
Oyewale reaffirmed the Commission’s non-partisan posture, insisting that investigations and prosecutions were being carried out without regard to party affiliation.
“Facts on the ground clearly show that any political actor, whether in the ruling party or the opposition, with corruption baggage, has no hiding place,” he said.
The anti-graft agency also dismissed claims of political alignment, stating that it has no alliance with any political party and would not succumb to pressure, blackmail or politically motivated demands.
It reiterated its commitment to justice, accountability and the rule of law, pledging to continue discharging its mandate “without fear or favour.”