In Nigerian politics, particularly within the hallowed confines of the All Progressives Congress (APC), there appears to be a mystical artifact: an invisibility cloak for corruption charges. Don it, pledge allegiance to the broom, and suddenly, the once relentless hounds of anti-graft agencies seem to lose your scent, or at least, their bite. This uncanny ability to render legal woes virtually invisible for its members is perhaps the APC’s most significant, albeit unadvertised, achievement in its “fight against corruption.”
Let’s observe more instances of this extraordinary phenomenon:
Emmanuel Bwacha: Defecting to Evade, or Just for the Love of the Broom?
Consider the intriguing political maneuver of Emmanuel Bwacha, a former Senator representing Taraba South. A long-time stalwart of the PDP, Senator Bwacha made a dramatic switch to the APC in February 2022. While politicians often cite “internal party injustice” or a “desire to contribute to national development” as reasons for defection, Bwacha’s case came with a rather candid, albeit unofficial, footnote. His own constituents and local media openly alleged that his sudden embrace of the APC was a calculated move to evade an ongoing EFCC probe related to constituency projects.
Lo and behold, since his defection, the details of the alleged EFCC probe have largely faded from public discourse. Was it a coincidence? Or did the APC’s invisibility cloak indeed drape itself around Senator Bwacha, making his alleged financial misdeeds conveniently disappear from the EFCC’s radar? It seems that for some, the path to judicial quietude runs directly through the APC secretariat. Why face tough questions when you can simply change your political address?
Aliyu Wamakko: The ₦15 Billion Investigation in Perpetual Motion
Next, we turn to Senator Aliyu Wamakko, former Sokoto State Governor and another powerful figure within the APC. He has been under the EFCC’s spotlight for an alleged ₦15 billion theft and money laundering. These are weighty allegations, involving substantial public funds.
Yet, despite the passage of time and his continued prominence as a serving Senator within the APC, a definitive resolution to his case remains elusive. It hasn’t been thrown out, nor has it progressed to a widely reported conviction. Instead, it seems to exist in a state of perpetual “investigation” or “pending trial,” a legal limbo where cases neither die nor truly live. It’s a testament to the APC’s unique judicial gravity, where some cases simply hover indefinitely, never quite reaching a conclusion that might embarrass the party or its influential members. One might quip that the APC has mastered the art of “indefinite postponement” for politically inconvenient legal matters.
Iyiola Omisore: The Case That Said Too Little and Vanished Too Quickly
And finally, a revisit to the enigmatic Iyiola Omisore, whose journey from EFCC arrest to APC National Secretary is a masterclass in political metamorphosis. Arrested in 2016 for allegedly receiving ₦1.3 billion from the infamous Dasukigate funds, his situation seemed dire.
However, after he joined the APC in 2021 and ascended to the influential position of the party’s National Secretary, his high-profile corruption case seemed to quietly vanish from public scrutiny. While he claimed a “clean bill of health” from the EFCC in 2018 (a claim many found dubious given the ongoing reports of recoveries), the consistent refrain in the media since his APC defection has been “not much is heard about the cases.” It’s as if the ₦1.3 billion alleged fraud was merely a phantom, disappearing into thin air once Omisore donned the APC’s official regalia. His subsequent resignation as National Secretary in 2023 was framed by the party as a “good move,” deftly sidestepping any lingering fraud allegations. This is perhaps the most refined use of the invisibility cloak: not just stalling, but making the very existence of the serious charges disappear from collective memory.
These numerous instances collectively paint a damning picture. The All Progressives Congress, far from being the beacon of anti-corruption it claims to be, have perfected a system where joining its ranks offers a remarkable shield against accountability. The “change” it promised has transformed into a convenient “change of status” for those who once faced the full wrath of the law. For the discerning Nigerian public, the question lingers: is the APC simply an “Association of Political Criminals” where allegiance offers the ultimate, albeit unspoken, amnesty?