Former Vice President of Nigeria and Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has raised concerns over a suspicious credit alert into one of his private bank accounts.

In a statement issued on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku disclosed that the transfer originated from an unknown individual with the narration, “Contribution Electioneering Campaign.”

The statement noted that neither Atiku nor his campaign solicited, authorised, or had any prior knowledge of the individual or entity behind the payment.

“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 unauthorized payment,” the statement read.

It further described the development as troubling, noting that the account in question is strictly private and not publicly accessible.

“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 added.

The former Vice President warned that the incident raises broader concerns about financial privacy and data protection in the country.

“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,” the statement said.

He called on the public and security agencies to take note of the development, describing it as part of a pattern of suspicious activities ahead of the forthcoming 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 noted.

The statement also urged Nigerians to remain focused and not be distracted by what it described as attempts at character assassination.

“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,” it added. (The Nation)