Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has rejected the re-emergence of long-standing allegations linked to his time in office under President Olusegun Obasanjo, insisting that no court ever found him guilty. In a statement released on 4 September 2026, he described the latest references to the claims as a sign of political desperation by opponents unable to address Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis.
Atiku, who is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said the allegations had already been examined by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), an administrative panel, the National Assembly and the courts during the height of his political differences with Obasanjo. “The machinery of the state was fully deployed, and the political hostility was public. Yet no court convicted me on these allegations. That is the record,” the statement, issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, quoted him as saying.
He argued that a petition or an official acknowledgement does not amount to a conviction, and he repeated an earlier challenge for anyone with credible evidence to present it in court. Atiku contrasted his position with that of President Bola Tinubu, noting that Tinubu had approached a United States court to block the release of certain FBI and DEA records on privacy grounds. He said this difference underlined who was prepared to face open scrutiny.
The former vice president maintained that recycled accusations cannot solve the problems Nigerians face daily: rising food prices, higher transport costs, expensive electricity and rent, strained education and healthcare systems, and persistent insecurity. “You cannot feed a hungry family with an EFCC petition,” the statement said. He stressed that the EFCC is a national institution that should investigate genuine wrongdoing without becoming a tool activated for political advantage.
The allegations date back roughly two decades to the period of open disagreement between Atiku and then-President Obasanjo. Atiku has consistently maintained that the investigations of that era produced no criminal conviction against him. The current statement frames the renewed focus on those events as an attempt to divert attention from the economic difficulties experienced by ordinary households in 2026.
Atiku said Nigerians will judge political figures in the 2027 elections on the basis of their records and the quality of life citizens experience. He indicated he would continue to face the public on those terms rather than engage further with archived claims.
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