Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, has raised alarm over a plot to assassinate former Vice President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Frank said the sudden withdrawal of all police personnel attached to Atiku, despite his statutory entitlement as a former vice president, was not only suspicious but part of a wider scheme to expose him to danger.
Frank made this known in a statement on Tuesday.
“No administration since 2007 has ever tampered with Atiku Abubakar’s security despite his consistent role as a major opposition figure. Why now? Why at a time when insecurity is at an all-time high across the country? This action clearly reveals an ulterior motive.”
He stated that the claim that security was being withdrawn broadly from VIPs was a smokescreen, insisting that the main target is Atiku Abubakar.
“This so-called blanket withdrawal is a cover-up. The real objective is to isolate and eliminate Atiku ahead of the 2027 election. The pattern is too obvious to ignore. Atiku, by law, is entitled to police protection as a former vice president. Removing his security at this critical time is deliberate and dangerous,” Frank said.
Frank warned that the move mirrors dangerous political trends across Africa, where incumbent leaders intimidate, arrest, detain, prosecute, and, in extreme cases, eliminate opposition leaders to retain power.
“President Tinubu is now following the disturbing trend in parts of Africa where incumbents use state power to silence their opponents. Atiku has been very vocal in exposing the failures of this administration, and this withdrawal of security is nothing but a political witch-hunt,” he declared.
He challenged the government to prove its claim of a general security withdrawal by also stripping the president’s family members, close associates, and political appointees of their police orderlies and escorts.
“If this directive is truly nationwide, then let the President’s family members, friends, and appointees also lose their security. They are also VIPs. But we know the truth: the main target is Atiku Abubakar, nobody else.”
This comes as the Nigeria Police commenced the withdrawal of 11,566 police officers previously assigned to Very Important Personalities (VIPs) nationwide.
The move followed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive on the withdrawal of police officers currently providing security to VIPs amid mounting insecurity concerns.