Former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate for the 2027 election, Atiku Abubakar, has claimed that he possesses evidence showing that President Bola Tinubu is 90 years old, saying he would present the evidence in court.

Atiku made the claim in an interview with the BBC while defending his decision to contest the 2027 presidential election.

The former vice-president said he considered himself physically fit and qualified to offer his services to Nigerians, despite his age.

“I have a president who is 90 years old now, and who is sick. I am healthy; I am strong. So why would I not make my services available to my fellow countrymen?” Atiku said.

He added, “I have evidence that he is [90], and I will present it in court.”

On his political career, Atiku said contesting the presidency was within his constitutional rights, stressing that he had faced several obstacles in his previous political pursuits.

He recalled that he contested for governor four times but was repeatedly disqualified by military authorities overseeing Nigeria’s transition to democratic rule.

According to him, his opposition to military rule made him a target during the transition period, claiming that he was eventually forced into exile after an alleged attempt on his life.

“I’ve never found anything easy in my life. There is nothing new there,” Atiku said, noting that his repeated attempts to contest the presidency were not unusual given his political history.

The ADC candidate said his experience, competence and patriotism qualified him to seek the presidency and contribute to the development of the country.

“I have the experience, I have the competence, I have the patriotism. So why would I not make all this available to the service of my country?” he asked.

On Nigeria’s worsening insecurity, Atiku blamed the persistence of insurgency and other security challenges on what he described as the “irresponsibility of government”.

He argued that successive administrations had failed to give adequate attention to the country’s defence and security needs.

Atiku recalled that while in government, he had raised concerns about the size of Nigeria’s police force relative to its population.

“I remember when we were in office, I told the president that, look, we are over 200 million people and yet we have less than 200,000 policemen,” he said.

Comparing Nigeria with Egypt, Atiku said the North African country had a much larger police force relative to its population, arguing that Nigeria could significantly reduce insecurity by strengthening its security agencies.

“Believe me, within one year, we can control this insurgency and insecurity that is all over the place,” he said.