Former Vice-President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has challenged the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation to release any records concerning President Bola Tinubu that can legally be made public, insisting that Nigerians have a right to know the history of the man leading the country.
Atiku said withholding potentially releasable information under the justification of protecting lives would be difficult for Nigerians to accept, arguing that citizens were already battling insecurity, hunger and worsening economic hardship under the Tinubu administration.
He made the position known in a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.
The former vice-president was reacting to the FBI’s position on the possible disclosure of records relating to Tinubu, particularly its invocation of concerns over potential danger to lives.
Atiku said the argument was unacceptable if it was being used to justify a blanket refusal to disclose information that could legally be released.
“The FBI says disclosure could endanger lives. Which lives? Nigerians are already dying,” Atiku said.
He accused the Tinubu administration of pursuing economic policies that had deepened hardship for millions of Nigerians since the President assumed office.
According to him, Nigerians are facing multiple pressures, including insecurity, inability to afford healthcare, rising living costs and difficulty meeting basic household needs.
He said, “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 particularly criticised the removal of the petrol subsidy, arguing that the policy had imposed significant economic pressure on households without adequate measures to cushion its effects.
He questioned the administration’s celebration of the subsidy removal, asking whether ordinary Nigerians had become better off since the policy was introduced.
“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?” he said.
Atiku said his proposed “Nigeria” would not measure economic progress by the level of hardship citizens could endure.
He, however, clarified that his demand for disclosure did not extend to information capable of compromising legitimate US law-enforcement operations.
The ADC presidential candidate said the identities of undercover agents, confidential sources and sensitive investigative methods should remain protected where necessary.
But he argued that such protections should not be expanded to cover information that could lawfully be released in the public interest.
“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,” he said.
Atiku maintained that his demand should not be interpreted as an attempt to invite the United States into Nigeria’s domestic political affairs.
Rather, he described it as a demand for transparency and democratic accountability concerning the individual occupying Nigeria’s highest political office.
He said Nigerians had a legitimate interest in knowing relevant information about the background and character of their political leaders, particularly where such information was held by foreign law-enforcement authorities and could legally be disclosed.
“Nigerians have a democratic right to know the history and character of the man who occupies their country’s highest office,” he said.
Atiku added that information capable of being released without jeopardising investigators, confidential sources or legitimate law-enforcement operations should not be unnecessarily withheld.
He urged the FBI to distinguish between legitimate secrecy required to protect investigations and information being withheld from the public without sufficient justification.
“Nigerians are not asking America to conduct our democracy for us. We are saying that American secrecy laws must not inadvertently become a sanctuary from accountability in Nigeria,” he said.
The former vice-president concluded by urging the FBI to protect its investigators, sources and investigative methods while ensuring that legitimate information of public interest was not concealed.
“Our people are already paying for bad governance with their lives,” he said.
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