Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu of dismantling democratic institutions and pushing Nigeria toward authoritarian rule.
Atiku in a statement by his media office, warned of such implications for the West African subregion.
The former vice president who was reacting to Monday’s “state-sponsored siege by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on the residences and businesses of former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami,” described the action as “lawless, vindictive, and politically motivated.”
He noted that the siege was despite the fact that matter is still pending before the courts.
“This is not governance. This is intimidation. This is a regime weaponizing state power to silence dissent,” Atiku stated.
Atiku who is chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), warned that Nigeria is witnessing the rapid erosion of democratic norms under Tinubu, with state institutions now reduced to tools of political persecution.
“What we are seeing is the naked abuse of power,” he said, adding that security agencies were deployed not for national security, but for settling political scores.
He pointed out that this is how democracies die.
Atiku accused the Tinubu administration of running a deliberate and coordinated campaign to crush opposition voices and impose total political control ahead of the 2027 elections.
“Let it be said clearly: this government is terrified of competition. That is why it is resorting to brute force, harassing, intimidating, and attempting to break opposition leaders into submission,” he stated.
He alleged that the sustained targeting of figures like Nasir el-Rufai, former Kaduna State governor, and Abubakar Malami is part of a broader strategy to coerce them into abandoning opposition politics and falling in line with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“This is political extortion at the highest level – join us or be destroyed. That is the message being sent,” Atiku said.
The former Vice President warned that Nigeria is dangerously close to becoming a one-party state in all but name.
“When opposition is criminalised and dissent is punished, elections become a mere formality.
“If Tinubu wants to run unopposed, then let INEC stop wasting public funds on a sham election,” he added.
Atiku likened the current trajectory to the infamous Abacha-era self-succession plot,” adding, “We have seen this script before. It ended in national disgrace.
“What is happening now is a dangerous replay—one that Nigerians must resist.”
He accused the APC administration of using anti-corruption agencies as instruments of political coercion, forcing elected officials to defect under pressure.
“Governors and political leaders are being railroaded into the APC under threat of persecution. This is not politics—it is state capture,” he said.
The former vice president questioned the moral basis of a system where one man seeks to bend the entire political structure to his personal ambition.
“No individual has the right to hijack the destiny of over 200 million Nigerians just to cling to power. Leadership is not ownership.
“Freedom of choice is the lifeblood of democracy. Once you kill it, dictatorship takes over.
“What Tinubu is engineering is nothing short of a civilian coup – denying Nigerians real options while pretending to run a democracy.
“A confident leader welcomes competition. Only a weak and insecure one fears it.
“This administration’s actions expose its fear – and Nigerians are watching,” Atiku added.
