Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over its request to privately justify the withholding of records linked to allegations concerning President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, insisting that investigative secrecy must not become a shield against legitimate public scrutiny.
Atiku’s position was contained in a statement issued on Saturday, August 22, 2026, by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, following an FBI application dated August 20 before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
The FBI had asked the court for permission to submit ex parte and in camera declarations explaining why it withheld some investigative records relating to allegations of drug trafficking involving Tinubu.
The agency argued that it could not publicly disclose the full basis for withholding certain information and sought permission to provide the explanations privately to the judge.
Reacting, Atiku questioned the FBI’s reliance on potential danger to lives as part of its justification, arguing that Nigerians were already facing severe consequences under the Tinubu administration.
“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 worsened hardship across the country, alleging that many Nigerians had died as a result of insecurity, hunger, unaffordable healthcare and economic distress.
“In the past three and a half years since Tinubu became Nigeria’s President, he has pursued economic policies that have made his government a threat to the daily survival of ordinary Nigerians,” he stated.
According to him, terrorism and banditry had claimed many lives, while millions more were struggling with rising living costs and the inability to afford basic necessities.
“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,” he said.
Atiku further linked the hardship to the removal of fuel subsidy, describing the policy as having imposed severe economic pressure on households and businesses.
“Families that once managed three meals now struggle for one. Parents cannot afford medicines for sick children. Breadwinners are buckling under debt and unbearable economic pressure,” he said.
“This is the human cost of Tinubu’s senseless removal of fuel subsidy without a credible plan to protect ordinary Nigerians.”
He argued that the issue of danger to life was not theoretical for Nigerians, but something experienced daily across communities.
“Danger to life is therefore not a legal abstraction to Nigerians. It is a daily reality in our homes, hospitals, farms, highways and communities,” Atiku said.
Atiku vows to restore subsidy
The former Vice President also reiterated his position that fuel subsidy would return under his proposed administration, saying the policy would be designed with safeguards against abuse.
“And this is precisely why the return of fuel subsidy under my watch is not negotiable,” he declared.
“I will not apologise for choosing the survival of Nigerians over economic dogma. The subsidy I propose will be targeted, transparently financed, capped and independently audited, with safeguards against corruption, diversion and criminal arbitrage.”
Atiku argued that fuel prices had a direct impact on transportation, food costs, production and employment, ultimately determining the ability of families to meet their basic needs.
“So 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 asked.
“Atiku’s Nigeria will not measure economic success by how much suffering citizens can endure.”
‘Don’t protect truth from Nigerians’
Turning specifically to the FBI’s application, Atiku said he was not calling for the disclosure of information that could compromise legitimate investigations, confidential sources or undercover personnel.
“Protect your agents. Protect your sources. Protect legitimate investigative methods. Redact whatever American law genuinely requires you to redact,” he said.
“But do not stretch those protections until they become a bulletproof vest for Tinubu.”
Atiku maintained that his demand was rooted in democratic accountability rather than an attempt to involve the United States in Nigeria’s domestic politics.
“Our demand of American law enforcement is not a call to interfere in Nigeria’s politics. It is a humanitarian and democratic appeal rooted in the principle that people have a right to information legitimately available about those who exercise enormous power over their lives,” he said.
He argued that Nigerians had a right to know the history and character of the individual occupying the country’s highest political office, particularly where relevant information could legally be disclosed without compromising legitimate US law-enforcement interests.
“If information can lawfully be released without endangering investigators, confidential sources or legitimate law-enforcement operations, release it,” Atiku stated.
The former Vice President further warned that US secrecy laws should not inadvertently prevent legitimate scrutiny of a Nigerian president.
“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.
He ended his appeal to the FBI with a direct message:
“So, to the FBI, our message is simple:
“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.”
