By Alex Igbekhe
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has taken a swipe at the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), challenging the agency’s bid to shield investigative records concerning President Bola Tinubu from public scrutiny.
The FBI had filed a motion seeking to submit ex parte in camera declarations, arguing that it cannot publicly explain all the reasons it is withholding certain records related to allegations of drug trafficking against the Nigerian president. The agency cited potential danger to lives as grounds for the secrecy.
But in a statement issued Saturday in Abuja by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) dismissed the FBI’s rationale as deeply ironic, given the hardship he said Nigerians are enduring under the current administration.
“The FBI says disclosure could endanger lives. Which lives? Nigerians are already dying,” the statement read.
Atiku tied the widespread suffering directly to the removal of fuel subsidy, a policy he argued has triggered a devastating chain reaction across the economy—driving up transportation costs, food prices, and unemployment while leaving ordinary families struggling to survive.
“Fuel affects transportation. Transportation affects food prices. Energy affects production. Production affects jobs. All of them determine whether an ordinary Nigerian family can survive until the end of the month,” he said.
The ADC candidate has consistently advocated a gradualist approach to subsidy reform, arguing that sudden removal creates immediate and overwhelming financial pain for citizens, a reality he believes has been worsened by the current administration’s approach .
Atiku was careful to clarify that his demand does not amount to interference in Nigeria’s internal affairs. He insisted he is not asking for undercover agents, confidential sources, or investigative techniques to be exposed—only for lawfully disclosable material to be released.
“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 declared.
He described the request as a “humanitarian and democratic appeal” rooted in the principle that citizens have a right to information legitimately available about those who wield enormous power over their lives.
“Our people are already paying for bad governance with their lives,” Atiku said, restating his pledge to reverse the subsidy removal if elected, while describing his proposed alternative as accountable and insulated from abuse.
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