The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) on Tuesday refutted allegations that the government is plotting to assassinate former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress’s (ADC) presidential candidate, and challenged the claimant to provide evidence to security agencies.
The council described the allegation by Timi Frank, an ADC member and former APC deputy national publicity secretary, as “grave” and urged security agencies to invite him to substantiate it.
It said any credible threat to life should be taken seriously regardless of political affiliation.
“We categorically reject the claim that the presidency or the APC Campaign Council is involved in any plot to assassinate former Vice President Atiku Abubakar or any opposition figure,” Dele Alake, the campaign council’s spokesman, said in a statement.
Frank made the allegation in an open letter dated October 19, calling on U.S. President Donald Trump and other international leaders to intervene over what he described as threats to Atiku’s life and political freedom ahead of the 2027 elections.
He alleged that the federal government could use state institutions to intimidate, arrest, detain or assassinate the ADC candidate.
Frank also called for an independent investigation and urged the U.S., United Nations, African Union, Economic Community of West African States, European Union and United Kingdom to seek assurances over the safety of Atiku and other opposition figures.
The APC campaign council also rejected claims that security personnel assigned to Atiku had been withdrawn.
It said the former vice president remains protected by the Nigeria Police Force and the State Security Service.
“Security around the ADC presidential candidate has never been compromised,” the statement said.
Alake said Atiku, as a former vice president, received two levels of state-funded protection and that President Bola Tinubu had ordered an increase in his security detail ahead of the 2027 elections.
He said Tinubu recently directed security agencies to reinforce protection for presidential, vice-presidential, governorship and deputy-governorship candidates as the election approaches.
Alake said the president regards opposition politics as an essential part of Nigeria’s democracy, pointing to Tinubu’s years in opposition before the APC defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 presidential election.
The campaign statement accused Frank of seeking to inflame the political atmosphere ahead of the polls.
“Frank’s claim is typical opposition rabble-rousing meant to heat the polity,” Alake said.
He alleged that Frank and other opposition figures had repeatedly written open letters and tagged foreign leaders and international organizations on social media to attract attention.
He warned that provocative claims were likely to increase as the 2027 campaign season intensifies.
He also urged parties, candidates and supporters to make factual statements and avoid remarks capable of creating tension.
“Let our political competition be peaceful, lawful, and focused on the big issues that matter to Nigerians, not character assassination or wild, baseless allegations,” he said.
