The former governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, has reportedly been detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged fraud.
Tambuwal reportedly honoured an invitation extended to him by the commission at about 11: 16 am on Monday, and was subsequently taken into custody.
Sources disclosed that Senator Tambuwal was quizzed over alleged fraudulent cash withdrawals to the tune of ₦189 billion.
“He wasn’t arrested as it was reported in some sections of the media. Though, when he was invited to explain what he used ₦189 billion for, he couldn’t explain. So, he was taken into custody.
“I think with that, people interpreted it to be an arrest. He will be with us till tomorrow pending when he will be ready to provide meaningful explanations on how he spent ₦189bn when he was governor.
“Do you know what ₦189bn can do for his state (Sokoto) or the country?” one of the sources at the commission told Daily Trust.
“The withdrawals are in flagrant violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022. He will have to explain how the money was spent,” the official said.
It was also gathered that another ex-governor, Emeka Ihedioha, has also been invited by the EFCC. Ihedioha was the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives when Tambuwal was Speaker.
According to Daily Trust, the former governor will honour the invitation within the week.However, a source who is very close to the former governor alleged that the issue is “100 per cent politics”.
According to him, Tambuwal’s problem started about four months ago when some persons close to the government reached out to him to back President Bola Tinubu.
“He consulted some of us around him and we wondered how can we in good conscience work with the government with the level of poverty and insecurity bedeviling the country, especially the northern region,” he said.
The source added that after that nothing more was heard of the issue until about three weeks ago when Tambuwal got a letter from the EFCC, saying they were making enquiries about his time as governor of Sokoto State.
“When he asked the commission to give specifics, they failed to do so. Tambuwal then asked them to reach out to the state to find out if there were things about his administration they were not comfortable with. Although they did not give specifics, we suspect it may have to do with World Bank funds disbursed during his tenure as governor. The money was paid through bank accounts and Tambuwal was actually given a clean bill of health by the World Bank,” he said.
The source said after that, the former governor received an invitation which he honoured yesterday.
He added that later in the night, the EFCC agreed that the former governor could be bailed and his associates met the bail conditions, but the commission decided to keep him in custody till today.
Another source close to Tambuwal said, “The current governor of Sokoto State was deputy governor to Tambuwal at a certain time before they fell apart.
“He (Governor Aliyu Sokoto) was part of many of the decisions taken in the state during Tambuwal’s tenure as governor. So, for fairness, the EFCC ought to have mentioned his name in their investigation even though he has immunity for now.
“And besides Tambuwal, some of those who served under him have been invited by the EFCC for interrogation. However, what we are asking for is fairness and not vendetta. People should not be put in the spotlight for political expediency.”
Another source added Tinubu’s ally also approached Ihedioha about six months earlier to join the Tinubu “train” and that he also has an invitation to appear before the EFCC within the week.
In a letter dated July 18th signed by Abdukarim Chukkol, Director, Investigation at EFCC, to the Secretary to the State Government of Imo State, the anti-graft agency said it was investigating a case in which they needed to obtain certain information from some state government officials.
The EFCC, therefore, requested the SSG to release the listed officials (names withheld) to attend an interview on August 11, 2025, at the EFCC’s headquarters. They are to be interviewed by the Head, Economic Governance Section -1, the letter stated.
“The staff are to come along with all the payment approvals, vouchers, returns and schedule of payments from May 29, 2019 to 14th January, 2020”, the letter stated.
The source said Ihedioha, who had been abroad, is now back in the country and will honour the EFCC invitation.
