The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has reportedly released the former Sokoto governor, Aminu Tambuwal, after spending over 24 hours in the custody of the anti-graft agency.

Tambuwal was detained at the corporate headquarters of the anti-graft agency on Monday, August 11, over the allegation that he fraudulentlt made cash withdrawal of N189 billion when he was serving as the governor of Sokoto State.

The EFCC has released the former Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal
EFCC releases former Governor Aminu Tambuwal Photo Credit: @AWTambuwal S

Sources within the anti-graft agency disclosed that the action of the former government was against the Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022.

The former governor had honoured the commission's invitation at about 11am on Monday. He was then taken into custody after it was said that the former governor failed to answer qustions that were asked from him.

According to Daily Trust, the release of the former governor was confirmed by one of EFCC's crack detectives, who disclosed that Tambuwal was granted an administrative bail and would be allowed to leave the agency's headquarters after meeting the bail conditions.

The detective said:

“He has just already been granted an administrative bail. We’ve extracted what we need from him and he will soon leave our headquarters after perfecting his bail conditions."

However, he declined to comment on whether the former governor would be charged to court or not.

Tambuwal's release came after the African Democratic Congress (ADC) claimed that the federal government was using the EFCC to discredit and harass opposition leaders.

Bolaji Abdullahi, the interim national publicity secretary of the ADC, made the allegation in a statement on Tuesday, August 12. He alleged that the commission has commenced “a choreographed media trial” against major opposition figures.

Abdullahi alleged that the sudden detention of Aminu Tambuwal, the former Sokoto governor and the "urgent" request by the EFCC on information about the seven-month tenure of Emeka Ihedioha, the former governor of Imo State, were politically motivated.

The spokesperson of the ADC also alleged that the EFCC was making a move to investigate the party's interim national chairman over his time as the Senate president.