Former Vice President of Nigeria and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has alerted the public and security agencies to what his office described as a suspicious credit into one of his private bank accounts.
In a press statement issued on Friday, August 7, 2026, and signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the money was transferred by “a person totally unknown” to him. The payment narration read: “Contribution Electioneering Campaign.”
According to the statement, neither Atiku nor his campaign team solicited, authorized, or had any prior knowledge of the individual or entity behind the payment.
The campaign described the incident as “deeply troubling” because the account is strictly private and its details are not in the public domain.
“How did unknown persons obtain the confidential banking details of a private citizen?” the statement asked, warning that if the banking information of a former Vice President and leading presidential candidate could be accessed, “then no Nigerian’s financial privacy is safe.”
The office further raised concerns that the details may have been obtained through persons with privileged access. It said such an act, if proven, would amount to “a grave abuse of power” and could expose the account holder to kidnappers, terrorists, bandits, fraudsters and other criminal elements.
The statement also put 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 dismissed the development as part of “tired tactics that smack of character assassination,” adding that “such desperate antics have failed before and will fail again.”
Atiku, who served as Vice President from 1999 to 2007, said he remains focused on “offering Nigerians credible leadership and practical solutions to the nation’s challenges” as political activities gather momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections. 
