Nigeria’s democracy is not under threat because public officials are being investigated. It is under threat when political actors attempt to weaponise opposition status as immunity from the law.
Let it be stated plainly: opposition is not a licence to steal, and it is not a shield against accountability.
No One Is Above the Law
The Nigerian Constitution is clear. It mandates the State to abolish corruption and abuse of power. It does not create exemptions for opposition leaders, former office holders, or political coalitions. The only immunity recognised by law is limited, specific, and temporary and it ends when a public officer leaves office.
To suggest otherwise is to invent a privilege unknown to the Constitution.
Investigation Is Not Persecution
The EFCC and other anti-graft agencies are legally bound to investigate allegations of economic and financial crimes. Investigation, arrest, and prosecution when carried out within the law do not violate fundamental rights. This is settled by the Supreme Court, not by political press conferences.
Calling investigation “victimisation” does not make it so. It only signals an attempt to pre-empt justice with propaganda.
Presumption of Innocence Is Not a Gag Order
Presumption of innocence means no one is guilty until proven so by a court of law. It does not mean no one can be investigated, questioned, or charged. It does not compel silence from law-enforcement agencies.
If you are innocent, the courts will clear you. If you are not, the law will take its course. That is the essence of the rule of law.
Selective Outrage Is Not a Defence
The argument that “others are also corrupt” is unknown to Nigerian law. Courts have consistently held that the alleged wrongdoing of others does not excuse or absolve an accused person.
Accountability is personal. Justice is individual. Guilt is not suspended because someone else has not yet been charged.
Intimidating Institutions Is the Real Democratic Threat
What truly threatens Nigeria’s multiparty democracy is not the EFCC doing its job, but the growing attempt to intimidate, delegitimise, or blackmail anti-corruption institutions whenever investigations touch politically exposed persons.
Democracy does not mean freedom from scrutiny. It means submission to the law especially by those who once held public trust.
On Calls for “Independent Review Bodies”
Transparency is welcome, but it must not be weaponised as a diversion. Nigeria already has constitutionally and statutorily empowered institutions to audit, investigate, and prosecute financial crimes. Creating parallel structures to undermine lawful investigations or discredit prosecutions is not reform it is evasion.
Face the Law
No one was forced to misappropriate public funds.
No one was compelled to abuse office.
No one was instructed to breach financial regulations.
Public office is a trust. When that trust is breached, consequences follow.
The appropriate response to investigation is not alarmism, not international lobbying, and not political noise. It is competent legal defence and respect for due process.
Final Word
Anti-corruption is not anti-opposition.
Investigation is not persecution.
Accountability is not authoritarianism.
Those with clean hands have nothing to fear.
Those with questions to answer should answer them before the law.
Enough is enough. Nigeria will not trade the rule of law for political convenience.
Otunba Segun Showunmi
The Alternative
