- Atiku Abubakar addressed the FBI directly, challenging its justification for withholding records linked to President Tinubu
- The former vice president argued that ‘danger to life’ is not an abstract legal concern but a daily reality for Nigerians
- Atiku used the statement to defend his pledge to restore fuel subsidy, saying he would not choose economic dogma over survival
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has directly challenged the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over its decision to withhold records concerning President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying the agency’s claim that disclosure would “endanger lives” rings hollow against the daily suffering of ordinary Nigerians.
The statement sent to Legit.ng, issued on Saturday, August 22, 2026, was signed by Phrank Shaibu, Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication.
Photo Credit: @atiku, @officialABAT
Source: Twitter
Atiku challenges FBI’s “danger to lives” argument
Atiku said the FBI’s position deserved scrutiny. “The FBI says disclosure could endanger lives. Which lives? Nigerians are already dying,” the statement read.
He pointed to the consequences of Tinubu’s removal of the fuel subsidy as evidence of a governance crisis that has cost Nigerian lives, describing families that once managed three meals a day now struggling for one, parents unable to afford medicine for sick children, and breadwinners collapsing under debt.
Atiku was careful to clarify that his demand of the FBI was not a call to expose agents, confidential sources, or sensitive investigative techniques. He said the agency should redact whatever American law genuinely requires, but argued that those protections must not be stretched to shield Tinubu from legitimate accountability.
Atiku defends fuel subsidy pledge
Atiku also used the statement to respond to criticism of his plan to restore the fuel subsidy, saying the policy was non-negotiable and rooted in the realities of Nigerian household economics.
He said any subsidy under his administration would be targeted, transparently financed, capped, and independently audited with safeguards against corruption and diversion. He argued that fuel prices affect transportation, which affects food costs, which determines whether an ordinary Nigerian family survives the month.
Atiku closed his message to the FBI with a direct appeal: “Protect your investigators. Protect your sources. Protect your methods. But do not protect the truth from Nigerians. Our people are already paying for bad governance with their lives.”
He described the push for disclosure not as foreign interference in Nigerian politics but as a democratic and humanitarian appeal grounded in the principle that citizens have the right to know the history and character of those who hold power over their lives.
Atiku Abubakar served as Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 and contested the 2027 presidential election as the candidate of the African Democratic Congress before resigning from the party on May 2, 2026.
Atiku explains how he helped Obasanjo
Legit.ng earlier reported that Atiku Abubakar said he leaked intelligence about a planned injection that he believed was intended to kill Obasanjo while the two were in prison.
The former vice-president linked a similar scheme to the death of General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, who died in detention in 1997.
Atiku connected Obasanjo’s current hostility towards him to his opposition to the former president’s controversial third-term agenda.
Source: Legit.ng