Atiku raises alarm over mysterious credit alert, suspected data breach

Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has raised the alarm over a suspicious credit into one of his private bank accounts domiciled with one of Nigeria’s leading commercial banks, and has put security agencies on notice over the incident.

Phrank Shaibu, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku Abubakar, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday, saying the transfer originated from a person totally unknown to the former Vice President, with the narration “Contribution Electioneering Campaign.”

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

“The circumstances surrounding the transfer are deeply troubling to His Excellency,” the statement read, noting that the account is a strictly private one whose details are not in the public domain.

Shaibu queried how unknown persons obtained the confidential banking details of a private citizen, warning that if the private banking information of a former Vice President and a leading presidential candidate could be accessed and deployed for reasons yet unknown, then no Nigerian’s financial privacy is safe.

He raised the possibility that the confidential information may have been obtained through persons with privileged access, describing this, if established, as “a grave abuse of power capable of exposing the account holder to kidnappers, terrorists, bandits, fraudsters and other criminal elements.”

The statement described the incident as the latest in a litany of suspicious activities ahead of next year’s general elections, and urged Nigerians not to be distracted by what it called “tired tactics that smack of character assassination.”

“Such desperate antics have failed before and will fail again,” the statement said, adding that the Waziri Adamawa remains focused on offering Nigerians credible leadership and practical solutions to the nation’s challenges.