‘Don’t Hide Tinubu’s Records From Nigerians; People Are Dying,’ Atiku Warns FBI

Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has urged the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to release any records concerning President Bola Tinubu that can legally be made public, saying that Nigerians are dying under his administration.

 

Atiku’s position follows the FBI’s request to a US court to withhold portions of records linked to an old investigation involving Tinubu, citing concerns over investigative techniques and potential danger to individuals.

 

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku questioned the agency’s reliance on the protection of lives as a basis for withholding information, arguing that Nigerians were already facing insecurity and severe economic hardship.

 

He said the irony of the FBI’s position would be laughable if the reality in Nigeria were not so tragic.

 

“The FBI says disclosure could endanger lives. Which lives? Nigerians are already dying.

 

“In the past three and a half years since Tinubu became Nigeria’s President, he has pursued economic policies that have made his government a threat to the daily survival of ordinary Nigerians.

 

“Many have been killed by terrorists and bandits. Many more have died amid hunger, inability to pay medical bills and the crushing emotional and economic pressure of being unable to provide food, shelter and basic necessities for their families.”

 

Atiku said the economic hardship confronting Nigerians had made it increasingly difficult for families to meet basic needs, including food, healthcare and shelter.

 

“Families that once managed three meals now struggle for one. Parents cannot afford medicines for sick children. Breadwinners are buckling under debt and unbearable economic pressure. This is the human cost of Tinubu’s senseless removal of fuel subsidy without a credible plan to protect ordinary Nigerians.”

 

He argued that the concept of danger to life was not merely a legal consideration for Nigerians but a daily reality resulting from insecurity and worsening economic conditions.

 

“Danger to life is therefore not a legal abstraction to Nigerians. It is a daily reality in our homes, hospitals, farms, highways and communities.”

 

Atiku questioned the Tinubu administration’s celebration of fuel subsidy removal, asking whether Nigerians were better off as a result of the policy.

 

“So when Tinubu boasts that subsidy is gone, Nigerians should ask him what exactly he is celebrating: the empty cooking pots, abandoned medical prescriptions, unaffordable transport fares or businesses struggling to survive?

 

“Atiku’s Nigeria will not measure economic success by how much suffering citizens can endure.”

 

Turning specifically to the FBI, Atiku clarified that his demand for disclosure did not extend to sensitive information that could compromise legitimate American law-enforcement operations.

 

He said undercover agents, confidential sources and investigative methods should be protected, while information that could legally be released should not be unnecessarily withheld.

 

“Protect your agents. Protect your sources. Protect legitimate investigative methods. Redact whatever American law genuinely requires you to redact.

 

“But do not stretch those protections until they become a bulletproof vest for Tinubu.”

 

Atiku said his demand was not an attempt to interfere in Nigeria’s political affairs but a call for transparency and democratic accountability.

 

“Our demand of American law enforcement is not a call to interfere in Nigeria’s politics. It is a humanitarian and democratic appeal rooted in the principle that people have a right to information legitimately available about those who exercise enormous power over their lives.”

 

He maintained that Nigerians had a democratic right to know the history and character of the person occupying the country’s highest political office, particularly where relevant information could lawfully be disclosed.

 

“Nigerians have a democratic right to know the history and character of the man who occupies their country’s highest office. Where information relevant to that legitimate public interest rests with American law enforcement and can lawfully be disclosed, the principles of openness and democratic accountability demand that it should not be unnecessarily hidden.”

 

“If information can lawfully be released without endangering investigators, confidential sources or legitimate law-enforcement operations, release it.”