ABUJA, Nigeria — Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, alleged on July 28, 2026, that the withholding of appropriated security funds by the administration of President Bola Tinubu is responsible for the deaths of over 17,000 citizens.
Golden Info reports that Phrank Shaibu, the senior special assistant on public communication to Abubakar, issued a statement outlining the claims on behalf of the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The statement cited recent remarks by Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), regarding unreleased capital allocations to security agencies. Shaibu said independent conflict monitors estimate that more than 17,000 Nigerians have died in violent attacks, with thousands more abducted since the current administration assumed office.
“These are not mere statistics. They are fathers, mothers, children, farmers, students and breadwinners whose lives have been cut short. Behind every number is a family condemned to a lifetime of grief,” Abubakar said.
“For months, the APC dismissed every concern raised by the opposition about budget implementation, security funding and fiscal opacity as politics. Today, one of its own ranking senators has asked the very questions Nigerians have been asking,” Abubakar said. “These are not allegations from the opposition. They are grave constitutional questions raised by a distinguished senator of the ruling party,” he said.
Abubakar, who holds the traditional title of Zege Mule U Tiv II, said an ADC administration would reform the country’s security architecture, deploy modern surveillance technology, and ensure prompt release of appropriated funds. “Nigeria does not need a president who merely mourns the dead after every massacre. Nigeria needs a president who protects the living,” he said.