The main opposition candidate in Nigeria, Mr Atiku Abubakar, was thoroughly searched when he returned to the country from Dubai on Sunday morning.
The search was carried out by a special security squad deployed by the presidency, former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Comrade Timi Frank, said in a statement to TODAY NEWS AFRICA in Washington DC.
Frank said the search on Atiku on Sunday was a plot to embarrass the People Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate on arrival from Dubai.
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Why it matters: Nigerians go to the polls in February to elect a new President, and opposition has been rising high against President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired major General turned politician who vowed to crush Boko Haram terrorists, punish Nigerian mega looters and rescue the battered economy, but has so far achieved close to nothing. Many are predicting that Mr Buhari, sensing he would be defeated, has resorted to undermoctatic tactics by leveling baseless accusations of corruption against opposition figures, and sending security forces after them.
Frank said Atiku, who returned to Nigeria around 1am on Sunday morning from his vacation in Dubai was thoroughly searched by a Special Squad of security men deployed by the presidency for some hours with recording gadgets on them and in and around Atiku’s aircraft.
“Nothing, was however found on him or in his aircraft.”
According to Frank, plan to also drop bags of foreign currencies and other implicating things in Atiku’s aircraft on his arrival was also unsuccessfull.
In a statement Timi Frank signed to raise an alarm on Sunday afternoon, he said the special squad of security men who carried out the search confessed that they were directed by the presidency to embarrass the former Vice President.
The squad, Frank revealed were armed with recording gadgets in and out of Atiku’s aircraft “to see if he returned to the country with foreign currencies or any other implicating materials.”
The former APC spokesman said the security men and the presidency were disappointed when nothing implicating could not be foundd on either Atiku or his aircraft.
While condemning what he tagged President Muhammadu Buhari’s move to desperately nail the PDP presidential candidate, Frank said if the former President Goodluck Jonathan was so harsh on President Buhari in 2015, he couldn’t have occupied the office today.
Frank said since Atiku Abubakar left office as Vice President for eight years, “this is the first time out of desperation to nail him that he has been searched embarrassingly.”
He, however warned president Buhari to desist from his act of desperation against the PDP presidential candidate.
“Due to information at our disposal, I have been saying it that the PDP presidential candidate is not save under this administration because the Buhari’s administration is deploying all manners of devilish strategies to nail all the opposition leaders especially, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
“We are using this medium to inform the international community to also take note of how Buhari administration is intimidating the opposition presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who has served Nigeria as Vice President for eight years.”
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