Atiku raises alarm over suspected leak of private bank details

The former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has raised the alarm over a suspicious credit into one of his private bank accounts, warning that the incident raises serious questions about the safety of Nigerians’ financial data.

In a statement issued on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said an unknown individual made a transfer into his private account domiciled with one of Nigeria’s leading commercial banks.

The payment came with the narration: “Contribution Electioneering Campaign.”  

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According to the statement, neither Atiku nor his campaign team solicited, authorized, or has any knowledge of the individual or entity behind the payment.

The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) described the incident as “deeply troubling,” noting that the account is strictly private and its details are not in the public domain.

“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 statement said.

“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 further warned that the leak may have come from persons with privileged access, which it described as “a grave abuse of power capable of exposing the account holder to kidnappers, terrorists, bandits, fraudsters and other criminal elements.”

The Atiku campaign said it was putting the Nigerian public and security agencies “on notice about this latest incident in a litany of suspicious activities leading up to next year’s general elections.”

It urged Nigerians not to be distracted by what it called “tired tactics that smack of character assassination,” adding that “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,” the statement added.