Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Presidency for invoking China’s legal system in its defence of President Bola Tinubu, arguing that the comparison has instead drawn greater attention to allegations surrounding the president’s past.
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the 2027 election, said the Presidency had scored a “monumental own goal” by citing China, where he said the most serious drug trafficking offences attract the death penalty.
The Presidency had earlier fired back at Atiku over reports that his lobbying group in the United States had submitted petitions to President Donald Trump and the US State Department regarding a 1993 civil forfeiture case against President Tinubu, among other issues raised.
But Atiku, in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said the Presidency’s attempt to use China as a reference point had backfired due to the Asian country’s stringent stance on narcotics offences, corruption and public accountability.
The former vice president said the Presidency’s attempt to score political points had instead exposed Tinubu to deeper public scrutiny.
“It takes a peculiar kind of unintelligence for a spokesman to set out to drag an opponent before a hypothetical Chinese court, only to end up dragging his own principal into the dock.
“Perhaps, the spokesman did not realise that the maximum penalty under Chinese law for the most serious drug trafficking offences is death. Having chosen China as his benchmark, he unwittingly invited Nigerians to examine the very standard he thought would embarrass Atiku Abubakar,” the statement read in part.
Atiku maintained that he had never been indicted or convicted of corruption, drug-related offences or any criminal offence in Nigeria or abroad.
“The facts are neither complicated nor disputable. Atiku Abubakar has never been indicted or convicted by any court in Nigeria or anywhere else in the world for corruption, narcotics offences or, indeed, any criminal offence whatsoever. That is an incontrovertible matter of public record,” he said.
The ADC presidential candidate argued that if the Tinubu administration intended to use China as a benchmark for accountability, Nigerians were equally entitled to question how Chinese authorities would have treated “a case involving $460,000 forfeited to the United States Government in a civil forfeiture proceeding concerning funds alleged to be connected to narcotics trafficking and money laundering.”
According to him, China is known for its strict anti-narcotics laws and tough stance on public accountability.
“China is renowned for its uncompromising approach to narcotics-related offences and public accountability. It is not a jurisdiction where the forfeiture of suspicious proceeds ordinarily marks the end of official scrutiny. More often than not, that is where scrutiny begins,” the statement added.
Atiku also extended the comparison to corruption, accusing the Tinubu administration of failing to uphold accountability standards.
He claimed that under China’s system, allegations of budget padding, abuse of office and the creation of a fake government agency would have attracted swift official action.
“Not in China would a president sign into law a national budget immersed in scandals, padding and duplicitous appropriations. Not in China would a President look the other way while a senior presidential aide faces grave allegations of creating a fake government agency. Not in China would a government campaign on Renewed Hope only to deliver renewed hardship to its citizens,” he stated.
The former vice president further criticised the Presidency for presenting a recent response from the United States Government to Nigeria’s diplomatic correspondence as proof that Tinubu had been exonerated.
“The Presidency should also stop brandishing the United States Government’s reply to its diplomatic correspondence as though it were a judicial acquittal. Diplomatic correspondence between sovereign governments is routine. It is neither a judgment of a court, nor a declaration of innocence, nor an instrument for rewriting history,” he said.
He urged the administration to focus on addressing Nigeria’s economic and security challenges rather than engaging in political distractions.
Sunday Ehigiator
