The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has raised the alarm over what he described as a “suspicious credit” into one of his private bank accounts.
The former Vice President said the money was transferred into his account at one of Nigeria’s leading commercial banks by a person he claimed was completely unknown to him.
Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists on Friday, August 7, Naijaonpoint reports.
According to Shaibu, the payment carried the narration, “Contribution Electioneering Campaign,” despite the fact that neither Atiku nor his campaign organisation solicited or authorised the payment.
The statement said Atiku had no knowledge of the individual or organisation behind the transfer and did not authorise the transaction.
The statement read in part, “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 unauthorised payment.”
Shaibu said the development was particularly disturbing because the affected account was strictly private and its details were not publicly available.
The former Vice President’s camp questioned how an unknown individual or group could have obtained the confidential banking details of a private citizen.
It said the incident raised serious concerns about the safety of Nigerians’ financial information.
The statement said, “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?”
According to Atiku’s aide, the situation becomes even more serious because of the potential security implications of exposing the banking information of a high-profile political figure.
The statement warned that if the private banking details of a former Vice President and presidential candidate could be obtained without his knowledge, other Nigerians might also be vulnerable.
It further raised the possibility that the information could have been accessed by individuals with privileged access to confidential data.
“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 said.
“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.”
Atiku’s camp said it had informed the Nigerian public and security agencies about the development, describing it as the latest in what it called a series of suspicious activities ahead of next year’s 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,” the statement added.
The former Vice President’s camp also urged Nigerians not to be distracted by what it described as attempts at character assassination 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 said.
Such tactics, it added, “have failed before and will fail again.”
Atiku’s camp maintained that the ADC presidential candidate remained focused on providing what it described as credible leadership and practical solutions to Nigeria’s challenges.
