By Stella Odueme
The Democratic Front (TDF) has criticised the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, for demanding explanations from President Bola Tinubu over a civil forfeiture case in the United States dating back 30 years.
The group urged the former Vice President to first address allegations surrounding the transfer of $40 million into accounts linked to his former wife, Jennifer Douglas, between 2000 and 2008.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Danjuma Muhammad, and Secretary, Wale Adedayo, TDF accused Atiku of attempting to divert public attention from policy issues ahead of the 2027 elections.
The group said the former Vice President’s renewed focus on Tinubu’s past financial forfeiture was inconsistent with his earlier calls for issue-based political campaigns.
It described Atiku’s demand for explanations over the US incident as an attempt to shift the campaign from policies and convictions to personalities.
TDF argued that the civil forfeiture involving $460,000 in the United States could not be compared with what it described as unresolved corruption-related questions surrounding the alleged transfer of $40 million into accounts linked to Douglas.
The statement partly read: “The magnitude of energy and resources which the former Vice President is committing to the voyage of exhuming a civil forfeiture incident that was resolved three decades ago, shows that Atiku Abubakar has nothing new to bring to the front burner to convince the electorate ahead of the January 2027 elections.”
The group further claimed that Tinubu was not implicated in the US civil forfeiture proceedings, insisting that the case involved the money rather than the President as an individual.
According to TDF, the forfeited sum was reportedly transferred from 10 different accounts, which it said were not confirmed to be directly owned or operated by Tinubu.
“It is instructive to note that there is no aspect of the proceedings that indicted or criminalized President Tinubu over the issue. Rather, a declarative order was made by the Judge that the case was a civil forfeiture ‘in rem’ meaning, the money was the subject of trial not the person,” the group stated.
TDF questioned why Atiku would demand explanations from Tinubu over a case in which, according to the group, the President was not the subject of trial.
The group instead challenged Atiku to explain the circumstances surrounding the alleged transfer of $40 million into accounts linked to Douglas, who was his wife at the time.
It said the allegations had featured in an American Senate subcommittee investigation and maintained that Nigerians deserved detailed explanations on the source and movement of the funds.
TDF also alleged that former President Olusegun Obasanjo had admitted preventing an FBI investigation into Atiku because of concerns over the implications for his administration and Nigeria’s image.
The group said the former Vice President had yet to adequately address the allegations, urging him to come clean before making personal integrity a major issue in the 2027 campaign.
“We deem it constitutionally and morally incumbent on the ADC presidential candidate to come to equity with clean hands, before demanding explanations from President Tinubu on a US civil forfeiture incident,” TDF added.
The group maintained that the 2027 election should focus on policies, development and the issues affecting Nigerians rather than what it described as attempts to revive old controversies for political advantage.