By Stella Odueme
The Democratic Front (TDF) has challenged the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, to provide explanations on allegations surrounding financial transfers involving his former wife, Jennifer Douglas-Abubakar, before demanding answers from President Bola Tinubu over a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding in the United States.
The group made the call in a statement signed by its Chairman, Danjuma Muhammad, and Secretary, Wale Adedayo, in response to Atiku’s recent demand for explanations from President Tinubu over the forfeiture of $460,000 in the United States.
The U.S. proceeding involved a civil forfeiture action in which $460,000 associated with an account in Tinubu’s name was forfeited under a court-approved settlement. Available court records distinguish the proceeding from a criminal conviction.
TDF, however, said Atiku should instead address questions surrounding a U.S. Senate subcommittee investigation into more than $40 million in funds transferred into the United States through accounts associated with Jennifer Douglas-Abubakar between 2000 and 2008.
A U.S. Senate report published by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations examined the Douglas-Abubakar case and described more than $40 million brought into the United States as “suspect funds.” The report said the funds included money transferred from offshore companies into U.S. accounts opened by Douglas-Abubakar.
According to TDF, the issue deserved greater attention from Atiku because of the questions raised by the Senate investigation.
The group accused the former Vice President of attempting to shift the focus of the 2027 election campaign from policy issues to personal controversies.
“We are displeased by the former Vice President's desperation to shift discussions in ongoing electioneering campaigns to personality rather than issues of policies and convictions,” the statement said.
TDF also criticised Atiku's position on the Tinubu forfeiture matter, arguing that the 1993 proceeding should not be presented as a criminal conviction.
The group said the court proceeding was a civil forfeiture action involving specific funds rather than a criminal trial against Tinubu. The 2023 Presidential Election Petition Tribunal similarly held that the evidence before it did not establish that Tinubu had been arraigned, convicted, sentenced or fined in a criminal case in the United States.
TDF said it was therefore inappropriate, in its view, for Atiku to make the forfeiture the centre of his demand for explanations from the President.
The group further alleged that Atiku had yet to provide Nigerians with sufficient explanations concerning the financial transactions examined by the U.S. Senate subcommittee.
“It is a matter of public record that former President Olusegun Obasanjo admitted that he prevented the attempt by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate Atiku on the matter because of its implications for the image of his administration and Nigeria,” TDF said.
The group called on Atiku to address what it described as “unresolved questions” surrounding the movement of funds into accounts linked to his former wife.
“Nigerians deserve the right to hear details of the suspicious transfer of funds from their country between year 2000 and 2008, which attracted a Sub-Committee probe from the American Senate,” the statement added.
TDF said the issue of the 1993 U.S. forfeiture and the Senate subcommittee's later examination of financial transfers involving Douglas-Abubakar should be discussed separately, given the different circumstances and proceedings involved.
The group concluded by urging the ADC presidential candidate to address the questions raised by the U.S. Senate report before demanding further explanations from President Tinubu over the decades-old civil forfeiture proceeding.