Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised an alarm over an unsolicited payment into one of his private bank accounts, but says the money itself may be only part of a more troubling question: who obtained his confidential banking details and for what purpose?
Atiku said he neither solicited nor authorised the payment and has no knowledge of the individual or organisation behind the transfer.
The development, according to his Special Assistant on Media and Communication, Phrank Shaibu, has left the former vice president concerned that the unexplained transaction could be used to construct a false financial trail against him ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“Neither His Excellency nor his campaign solicited, authorised or has any knowledge of the individual or entity behind the unauthorised payment,” Shaibu said in a statement issued in Abuja.
Atiku’s concern, however, goes beyond an unexpected credit alert.
He questioned how details of a strictly private bank account could have become available to an unknown person or entity in the first place.
For him, that is the more disturbing part of the episode.
If confidential banking information was deliberately passed to outsiders, Atiku argued, the breach could point to an abuse of privileged access and create security vulnerabilities for the account holder.
He warned that once sensitive financial information falls into the wrong hands, it can potentially expose individuals to fraudsters and other criminal elements.
Against the backdrop of an increasingly competitive political atmosphere ahead of 2027, Atiku said the unexplained payment must not be allowed to become the basis for a manufactured scandal.
He therefore put Nigerians and security agencies on notice, calling attention to the transaction and the circumstances surrounding it.
The former vice president urged authorities to establish who initiated the payment, why it was made and, crucially, how the sender obtained details of his private account.
The incident now presents two questions requiring answers: Where did the money come from—and who opened the door for it to reach an account that was supposed to be private?
Atiku insists he has no connection with the payment and says he will not accept responsibility for funds he neither requested nor authorised.
With 2027 drawing closer, he warned Nigerians to be wary of attempts to turn unexplained transactions into political ammunition or use them to damage reputations.