Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised the alarm over an unauthorised payment credited to one of his private bank accounts, days after the transaction was traced to an OPay account whose owner remains unknown.
Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said in a statement that the ADC presidential candidate neither solicited nor authorised the transfer, which was made with the narration “Contribution Electioneering Campaign.”
Shaibu said neither Atiku nor his campaign organisation had any knowledge of the individual or entity behind the payment.
Beyond the unexpected credit, Atiku said his greater concern is how the sender obtained details of an account he described as strictly private and not publicly available. He said the development points to a possible breach of confidential banking information and warned that if his account could be compromised, ordinary Nigerians’ financial data was equally at risk.
He said such a breach could expose account holders to serious security threats, including from kidnappers, terrorists, bandits and fraudsters.
Atiku’s camp also raised concern over the transaction’s description. Although there is no evidence linking the funds to any criminal or terrorist organisation, aides fear the “electioneering campaign” narration could later be misused to falsely tie Atiku to unknown individuals or entities.
A bank involved in the transaction has opened an investigation to determine the source of the funds and how the sender accessed Atiku’s account details. Preliminary checks show the transfer originated from an OPay account, though Atiku’s camp maintains that identifying the immediate sender may not reveal who ultimately initiated the payment.
Atiku said the matter has been reported to security agencies and described it as part of a pattern of suspicious activity as Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections. He urged Nigerians not to be distracted by what he called attempts to damage his reputation, stressing that he remains focused on his presidential campaign.
His camp maintains the deposit should not be treated as a campaign contribution until investigators establish its origin.
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