Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has raised the alarm over what he described as a suspicious credit into one of his bank accounts domiciled with a commercial bank.
Atiku, in a statement issued on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said the transfer was made by an unknown individual with the narration, “Contribution Electioneering Campaign.”
The former vice president warned that the incident raised serious questions about the security of Nigerians’ confidential banking information.
According to the statement, neither the former vice president nor his campaign solicited, authorised or had prior knowledge of the payment or the person behind it.
Shaibu said the development was disturbing because the account involved was a strictly private one whose details were not publicly available.
He said the incident had prompted concerns over how unknown persons obtained the confidential banking details of a private citizen.
“The transfer originated from a person totally unknown to His Excellency with the narration ‘Contribution Electioneering Campaign.’ Neither His Excellency nor his campaign solicited, authorised or has any knowledge of the individual or entity behind the unauthorized payment.
“Understandably, the circumstances surrounding the transfer are deeply troubling to His Excellency. 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?
“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,” the statement read.
Atiku urged the public and security agencies to take note of the incident, describing it as the latest in what he called a series of suspicious activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He further alleged that the development was part of attempts to tarnish his image as political activities gathered momentum.
“As political activities gather momentum, Nigerians should not be distracted by these tired tactics that smack of character assassination. Such desperate antics have failed before and will fail again,” the statement said.
However, Shaibu confirmed to Saturday PUNCH that the former vice president had reported the incident to anti-graft agencies for investigation into the matter.
