A political advocacy group, The Democratic Front (TDF), has criticized former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for demanding that President Bola Tinubu address a 30-year-old US civil forfeiture case.
In a statement issued on Thursday by its chairman, Danjuma Muhammad, and secretary, Wale Adedayo, the group urged Mr Atiku—the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC)—to focus on addressing past corruption allegations against himself rather than diverting attention.
TDF specifically pointed to a US Senate subcommittee report investigating the transfer of $40m into accounts linked to Mr. Atiku’s former wife between 2000 and 2008.
“It insults public sensibility that a former public officer like Atiku Abubakar… will make personal integrity the focal point of his campaign,” the group said, arguing that President Tinubu was not criminally indicted in the 1993 US court matter.
The group called on Mr. Atiku to clear his own record regarding historical corruption probes before questioning the president’s past.
Despite the recurring political attacks over his public service, Mr. Atiku has never been convicted of any crime in a court of law. Neither the US Senate subcommittee report nor various probes by Nigerian anti-graft agencies resulted in criminal charges or convictions against him, and the former vice president has consistently denied any financial wrongdoing during or after his time in office.
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