“Drug trafficking punishable by death in China,” Atiku blasts Tinubu, presidency over ‘own goal’ comparison

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Presidency for invoking China’s legal system while defending President Bola Tinubu, saying the comparison has instead renewed public attention on allegations linked to the President’s past.

Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate for the 2027 presidential election, made the remarks through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, in a statement issued on Saturday.

The statement followed comments by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, who accused Atiku of corruption during his time as Vice-President and claimed he would have been imprisoned if he were subject to China’s legal system.

Onanuga alleged that Atiku oversaw a flawed privatisation programme that transferred national assets to associates at undervalued prices, resulting in job losses and unpaid salaries and pensions.

Responding, Shaibu described the comparison with China as a strategic error, arguing that China’s strict anti-corruption laws and severe penalties for serious drug offences had instead intensified scrutiny of allegations previously linked to Tinubu.

He said the spokesman had inadvertently invited Nigerians to assess the President by the same standards he sought to apply to Atiku.

Atiku’s camp maintained that the former Vice-President has never been indicted or convicted of corruption, narcotics offences or any other criminal offence in Nigeria or abroad.

The statement also questioned how Chinese authorities would have handled the civil forfeiture of $460,000 to the United States government in proceedings involving funds alleged to be connected to narcotics trafficking and money laundering.

Shaibu argued that China’s strict approach to narcotics-related offences and public accountability would have required further investigation rather than ending with a civil forfeiture.

The former Vice-President also rejected the Presidency’s reliance on a recent response from the United States government to Nigeria’s diplomatic correspondence as evidence that Tinubu had been cleared of past allegations.

According to him, diplomatic correspondence between governments does not amount to a judicial ruling or declaration of innocence.

Atiku urged the Tinubu administration to focus on tackling economic hardship, hunger, insecurity and other national challenges instead of engaging in political exchanges with opposition figures.