- Safiu Kehinde
Former Vice President of Nigeria and Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has raised alarm over alleged mysterious credit alert into one of his private bank accounts domiciled with one of Nigeria’s leading commercial banks.
The transfer reportedly originated from a person totally unknown to His Excellency with the narration “Contribution Electioneering Campaign.”
This was made known in a statement issued on Friday by Phrank Shuaibu, the media aide to the ADC presidential candidate.
Shuaibu held that Atiku never solicited for fund from anyone, labelling the transfer as deeply troubling.
‘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?’ The media aide asked.
Shuaibu raised concern over Nigerians’ financial privacy, stressing that the leak of a confidential information like private banking details of Atiku is disturbing.
‘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.
‘Even more disturbing is the suspicion that such confidential information may have been obtained through persons with privileged access.
‘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.’ He said.
The aide called the attention of security agencies to the development which he described as desperate antics targeted at Atiku’s presidential ambition.
‘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.
‘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 Waziri Adamawa remains focused on offering Nigerians credible leadership and practical solutions to the nation’s challenges.’ Shuaibu added.