Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has stepped into the spotlight again — this time to shut down viral rumours linking him to a flashy gi...
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has stepped into the spotlight again — this time to shut down viral rumours linking him to a flashy gift. Reports had claimed he awarded a brand-new Toyota SUV to Lt. A.M. Yerima after Yerima’s high-profile face-off with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike. Atiku’s camp says the story is totally false, reminding Nigerians that in the age of social media, not every shiny car is a political pay-off. (Just like when Hollywood star Dwayne Johnson cleared up Instagram posts about him buying sports cars for co-stars — image matters, but truth matters more.)
When stories started filtering across Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) that Atiku Abubakar had rewarded Lt. A.M. Yerima with a brand-new Toyota SUV following the latter’s viral clash with Nyesom Wike, many Nigerians paused. The image of a gifted car neatly transmitted via screenshots and posts looked like political theatre. But now Atiku’s media team says the script is purely fictional.
In a statement issued Thursday through his handle, Atiku’s Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, dismissed the claims as “entirely fabricated and without any factual basis. According to the statement:
“His Excellency Atiku Abubakar … did not gift Lt. Ahmed Yerima — or any other individual — a brand-new Toyota SUV, contrary to the false reports currently circulating on social media.”
What sparked the rumour
The background is this: Lt. Yerima — a naval officer who became the face of national conversation after exchanging words with Minister Wike during a land dispute in Abuja’s Gaduwa District — shot to fame when a video of the confrontation went viral. Soon after, a post alleging that Atiku rewarded him for “standing firm” started doing the rounds. The post claimed the former Vice-President handed him a shiny new SUV as an acknowledgment of his boldness.
Why Atiku felt the need to respond
In Nigeria’s polarized media space, viral narratives often gain traction before fact-checking catches up. By stepping in to clarify, Atiku is doing two things: one, protecting his brand from association with what he calls falsehood; and two, signalling to his followers (and critics) that in this digital age, unverified content can become a reputational risk overnight. The statement also urged the public to disregard the story entirely.
Broader implications
This incident is more than just a car-gift rumour. It touches on how quickly a media narrative can frame power dynamics: officer lands in viral clip; politician allegedly rewards him; the public speculates. It’s reminiscent of previous episodes in Nigeria, such as when a politician was rumoured to have handed over a house to a public servant in a viral video — and then it turned out to be another case of “photoshop politics.” In both cases, the core issue remains: how much of what circulates online is grounded in fact?
What next?
While Atiku has denied the gift, the original confrontation — between Lt. Yerima and Minister Wike — is still under scrutiny, with questions around land rights, protocols and institutional respect buzzing loudly. Some analysts say this new denial might calm one narrative, but the larger story remains alive: how civilians, ministers and military personnel collide in contested spaces. For now, expect more commentary, more memes, and perhaps a deeper dive into who benefits when suspicion meets social-media virality.