The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has raised concerns after a suspicious payment was made into one of his private bank accounts with a leading Nigerian commercial bank. He has also alerted security agencies over the incident.
In a statement released on Friday, Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said the money came from someone completely unknown to the former Vice President. The transfer carried the narration, “Contribution Electioneering Campaign.”
The statement said Atiku and his campaign neither requested nor approved the payment and have no knowledge of the person or group behind it.
“The circumstances surrounding the transfer are deeply troubling to His Excellency,” the statement said, adding that the bank account is a private one and its details are not publicly available.
Shaibu questioned how unknown persons got access to the confidential banking details of a private citizen. He warned that if the private account details of a former Vice President and leading presidential candidate could be accessed for unknown reasons, then no Nigerian’s financial privacy is secure.
He suggested the information may have come from people with privileged access, describing such an act, if confirmed, as “a grave abuse of power capable of exposing the account holder to kidnappers, terrorists, bandits, fraudsters and other criminal elements.”
The statement called the incident another suspicious development ahead of next year’s general elections. It urged Nigerians to ignore what it described as “tired tactics that smack of character assassination.”
“Such desperate antics have failed before and will fail again,” the statement added, saying the Waziri Adamawa remains committed to providing credible leadership and practical solutions to Nigeria’s challenges.
