Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised concerns over an unauthorised payment into one of his private bank accounts, saying the incident could indicate that his confidential banking information has been compromised.
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, disclosed the development in a statement issued on Friday and signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.
According to the statement, an unidentified individual transferred money into Atiku’s account with the narration “Contribution Electioneering Campaign.”
The former vice president said neither he nor his campaign authorised or solicited the payment and that he had no knowledge of the individual or entity behind the transaction.
“Neither His Excellency nor his campaign solicited, authorised or has any knowledge of the individual or entity behind the unauthorised payment,” the statement read.
Atiku said the circumstances surrounding the transaction were particularly concerning because the affected account is strictly private and its details are not publicly available.
“The account is a strictly private one whose details are not in the public domain. This raises a fundamental question: How did unknown persons obtain the confidential banking details of a private citizen?”
He said the incident raised wider concerns about the security of Nigerians’ financial information, particularly if confidential banking details belonging to a former vice president and presidential candidate could allegedly be accessed.
“If the private banking information of a former Vice President and a leading presidential candidate can be accessed and deployed for reasons yet unknown then no Nigerian’s financial privacy is safe,” Atiku said.
The ADC candidate also raised the possibility that the information could have been obtained through people with privileged access.
“Even more disturbing is the suspicion that such confidential information may have been obtained through persons with privileged access,” the statement said.
Atiku warned that any confirmed breach of confidential banking information could have serious security implications for account holders.
“If established, this would amount to a grave abuse of power capable of exposing the account holder to kidnappers, terrorists, bandits, fraudsters and other criminal elements,” the statement added.
He said Nigerians and security agencies had been informed of the development, which he described as the latest in what he characterised as a series of suspicious activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“We therefore put the Nigerian public — and the security agencies — on notice about this latest incident in a litany of suspicious activities leading up to next year’s general elections,” he said.
Atiku also urged Nigerians not to be distracted by what he described as attempts to damage his reputation as political activities intensify.
“As political activities gather momentum, Nigerians should not be distracted by these tired tactics that smack of character assassination,” the statement read.
“Such desperate antics have failed before and will fail again,” he added.
The former vice president said he remained focused on offering Nigerians what he described as credible leadership and practical solutions to the country’s challenges.
“The Waziri Adamawa remains focused on offering Nigerians credible leadership and practical solutions to the nation’s challenges,” the statement said.
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