Tinubu Campaign Speaks on Reported Plot To Assassinate Atiku

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has denied allegations that the Nigerian government is plotting to assassinate former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

The council, in a statement issued on Tuesday, October 20, said neither President Bola Tinubu nor the APC Presidential Campaign Council was involved in any plan to kill Atiku.

POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the former vice president is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 general elections.

The statement, signed by Dele Alake, spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, followed allegations by Timi Frank, a member of the ADC, and a United States-based policy advisory and lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, that Atiku’s life was in danger.

The allegations have raised concerns about the safety of the former vice president as political activities ahead of the 2027 presidential election gather momentum.

Reacting to the claims, the APC campaign council described the allegation attributed to Frank as a serious matter that required evidence, urging security agencies to invite him to substantiate his claims.

“This is a grave allegation that Mr Frank must prove. We thus urge security agencies to invite him to substantiate the allegation, given its gravity and the urgent need to preserve life,” the statement said.

The council also called on the ADC member to provide any information in his possession that could assist investigators, stressing that credible threats against individuals should not be ignored because of their political affiliations.

“We also urge Mr Frank not to hesitate to provide any information in his possession that will enable prompt investigation. Any credible threat to life must be treated seriously, irrespective of political affiliation,” it added.

The APC campaign council, however, categorically rejected the allegation that the presidency or the ruling party’s campaign organisation was planning to assassinate Atiku or any other opposition figure.

It also dismissed claims that security personnel attached to the former vice president had been withdrawn, insisting that he continued to enjoy protection from security agencies.

“The narrative that the security personnel attached to former Vice President Atiku have been withdrawn is totally false. The former Vice President is well protected by the police and the Department of State Security,” the statement said.

According to the council, Tinubu had recently directed security agencies to strengthen protection for candidates contesting presidential, vice-presidential, governorship and deputy governorship positions across the country.

It maintained that Atiku’s security arrangements had not been compromised and argued that his position as a former vice president entitled him to existing state-funded protection.

“The security around the ADC Presidential candidate has never been compromised. As a former Vice President of Nigeria, he enjoys two levels of state-funded security protection,” the statement added.

The council further stated that Tinubu had increased security protection for Atiku in his capacity as a presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Defending the president’s record on opposition politics, the APC campaign council described Tinubu as a statesman and democrat who recognised the importance of political competition in a democratic system.

It recalled Tinubu’s role in opposition politics before the APC defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 general elections, arguing that his political history contradicted allegations that his administration would seek to eliminate an opposition candidate.

“President Bola Tinubu, as a statesman and an avowed democrat, recognises opposition politics as an essential part of our 27-year-old democracy,” the statement said.

“For 16 years in Nigeria, President Tinubu was the face of opposition, and he galvanised the opposition movement to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party as a governing party in Nigeria in 2015.”

The council also accused Frank of making allegations designed to generate political controversy and attract public attention, particularly through open letters and social media posts that tag foreign leaders and international organisations.

It described his claim as “typical opposition rabble-rousing meant to heat the polity,” while predicting that political actors would make increasingly controversial statements as the country moved closer to the next general elections.

However, the APC campaign council urged politicians, political parties and their supporters to exercise restraint in their public statements, warning against allegations that could generate unnecessary tension.

It said political competition should remain peaceful and focused on issues affecting Nigerians rather than personal attacks and claims that had not been substantiated.

The response followed a separate allegation by Von Batten-Montague-York, a US-based policy advisory and lobbying firm, which claimed that Atiku’s life was in danger and accused the Nigerian Presidency of being behind an alleged assassination plot.

In a statement published on its verified X account, the firm said it was concerned by reports alleging that the presidency and its agents were plotting to assassinate the former vice president.

“We find the reports that the Nigerian Presidency and its agents are allegedly plotting to assassinate former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar very troubling. Atiku’s life is in danger,” the firm stated.

The organisation also said its principal, Dr Von Batten, intended to bring the allegations against Tinubu to the attention of the administration of US President Donald Trump and members of the United States Congress.

“Dr Von Batten fully intends to bring these latest allegations against Nigerian President Bola Tinubu to the attention of the Trump Administration and Congress,” it said.