{"id":100126,"date":"2026-09-07T12:41:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T12:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=100126"},"modified":"2026-09-07T12:41:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T12:41:34","slug":"senator-shehu-buba-denies-sponsoring-bandits-but-questions-surrounding-the-allegations-remain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=100126","title":{"rendered":"Senator Shehu Buba denies sponsoring bandits \u2014 but questions surrounding the allegations remain"},"content":{"rendered":"

From a 2024 Hajj controversy to viral videos, political warfare and calls for a DSS disclosure, the allegations against the Bauchi senator have refused to disappear<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Senator Shehu Buba Umar has finally broken his silence over a fresh wave of allegations linking him to suspected bandit kingpins, dismissing the claims as fabricated, politically motivated and part of a sustained campaign to destroy his reputation.<\/p>\n

But the controversy surrounding the Bauchi South senator did not begin with the latest viral videos.<\/p>\n

It goes back at least two years, to allegations raised by Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, followed by a reported security investigation, questions over the senator’s access to sensitive intelligence as chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, and increasingly bitter political hostilities between Buba and the governor.<\/p>\n

Now, as Buba seeks the Bauchi governorship on the platform of the Peoples Redemption Party, the old allegations have resurfaced in a form that has forced the Department of State Services to again come under public pressure to explain what it knows.<\/p>\n

The DSS, when contacted by Saturday PUNCH, said investigations into the allegations would be made public \u201cat the appropriate time.<\/p>\n

The response has done little to settle the matter.<\/p>\n

Instead, it has revived the central question that has followed the senator since 2024:what exactly did the security agencies establish about the allegations against him?<\/p>\n

The allegations did not start with the viral videos<\/strong><\/p>\n

The present controversy has its roots in September 2024, when Governor Bala Mohammed petitioned President Bola Tinubu over the registration of two individuals, including Abubakar Idris, for the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to the governor’s petition, security authorities suspected Idris of involvement in banditry and kidnapping in Zamfara State.<\/p>\n

The petition alleged that Idris and another individual were registered for the pilgrimage through a person identified as Yahaya Ibrahim, described as a senior legislative aide to Buba.<\/p>\n

The matter became more serious when DSS operatives reportedly visited the Bauchi State Muslims Pilgrims Welfare Board and demanded the e-passports of the two individuals. Idris’ passport was handed over to the DSS and he was subsequently detained.<\/p>\n

Governor Mohammed described the circumstances as \u201cdeeply worrisome\u201d and said they suggested Buba’s possible complicity in supporting or enabling banditry.<\/p>\n

Those were allegations contained in a political petition \u2014 not a court finding that Buba sponsored banditry.<\/p>\n

Buba rejected them completely.<\/p>\n

He said the allegation was baseless and malicious, denied knowing anyone by the name of Yahaya Ibrahim in the capacity alleged, and maintained that his practice of sponsoring people for Hajj was based on recommendations from elders, community leaders and religious figures.<\/p>\n

The senator also challenged the authorities to investigate the matter.<\/p>\n

Two years later, the investigation remains one of the most important unresolved elements of the controversy.<\/p>\n

Bala Mohammed and the political battle<\/strong><\/p>\n

The allegations cannot easily be separated from the increasingly bitter political confrontation between Buba and Governor Bala Mohammed.<\/p>\n

By 2024, the two men had become open political adversaries.<\/p>\n

Buba, then a prominent APC senator and chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, had repeatedly criticised the governor and defended President Tinubu against Bala Mohammed’s attacks on the Federal Government.<\/p>\n

Buba’s camp subsequently accused the governor of using political proxies against the senator. Among the grievances cited was the withdrawal of Buba’s traditional title by the Bauchi Emirate Council. Buba’s supporters portrayed that episode as part of an effort to diminish his influence in the state.<\/p>\n

The governor’s petition over the alleged Hajj connection therefore landed in the middle of an already fierce political struggle.<\/p>\n

Buba’s response was equally political. His camp accused Mohammed of manufacturing allegations because of the senator’s opposition to him and his defence of President Tinubu.<\/p>\n

The context matters.<\/p>\n

It does not prove that the allegations against Buba were politically manufactured. But neither can the political hostility between the two men simply be ignored when assessing the provenance and motivation of the accusations.<\/p>\n

The dispute has acquired even greater significance because Buba is now positioning himself as a contender for the governorship of Bauchi State in 2027.<\/p>\n

In other words, the man at the centre of the allegations is no longer merely a senator defending his reputation. He is also a potential challenger in a state where the incumbent governor remains one of the dominant political figures.<\/p>\n

The senator’s former intelligence position raises another question<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most sensitive aspect of the controversy is Buba’s former position as chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence.<\/p>\n

That was not an ordinary Senate committee.<\/p>\n

As chairman, Buba occupied one of the National Assembly’s most sensitive oversight positions and was exposed to briefings concerning national security and intelligence matters.<\/p>\n

That made the allegations against him politically and institutionally more consequential.<\/p>\n

It also explains why some critics have questioned whether the Senate, the DSS and other security agencies should have treated the allegations simply as another political quarrel.<\/p>\n

Former Minister of Youth and Sports Solomon Dalung has now explicitly called for clarification from the DSS, arguing that Nigerians should know whether the earlier allegations were investigated and what the investigation established. He has also called for greater scrutiny because of Buba’s former position overseeing security and intelligence matters.<\/p>\n

The issue is not merely whether Buba had contact with people later accused of criminal activity.<\/p>\n

It is whether any such contacts were legitimate constituency, humanitarian or security-related engagements \u2014 as Buba maintains \u2014 or whether they amounted to something more serious.<\/p>\n

Only an independent investigation can answer that question.<\/p>\n

Was Buba quietly removed from the security committee?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This question has also become part of the political narrative surrounding the senator.<\/p>\n

Reports emerged that Buba was removed as chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence and reassigned to the Committee on Livestock and Animal Husbandry.<\/p>\n

The change inevitably generated speculation because it occurred against the backdrop of the allegations and demands by some groups for his removal from a position involving sensitive security information.<\/p>\n

But the Senate’s committee reorganisation was presented as an institutional reshuffle, rather than an official disciplinary action against Buba.<\/p>\n

It would therefore be unsafe to conclude that Buba was removed from the committee because of the banditry allegations without documentary evidence establishing that connection.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the timing has continued to fuel speculation among political actors and commentators.<\/p>\n

The question is straightforward:was the change simply a routine political reshuffle, or did concerns about the controversy surrounding the senator influence the decision?<\/p>\n

There has been no public official statement establishing the latter.<\/p>\n

Unattributed claims from within the political establishment<\/strong><\/p>\n

The controversy has also generated a layer of claims attributed vaguely to \u201csenate colleagues,\u201d \u201cpolitical insiders\u201d and other unnamed actors.<\/p>\n

Some of those accounts have portrayed Buba as having been unusually close to security officials and alleged that his position gave him access to intelligence concerning bandit networks.<\/p>\n

Others have gone further, suggesting \u2014 without publicly produced evidence \u2014 that some senators had privately questioned his relationships with individuals operating in areas affected by banditry.<\/p>\n

Such claims should be treated with considerable caution.<\/p>\n

There is a major difference between an unattributed political allegation and evidence.<\/p>\n

No senator has publicly produced documentary evidence establishing that Buba sponsored bandits. Nor has any court convicted him of such an offence.<\/p>\n

The responsible question is therefore not whether unnamed politicians \u201cbelieve\u201d Buba is complicit, but whether the security agencies possess evidence capable of substantiating or disproving the allegations.<\/p>\n

That evidence has yet to be publicly laid out.<\/p>\n

The National Security Adviser connection<\/strong><\/p>\n

Buba’s relationship with National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu has also featured in the political discussion.<\/p>\n

\"\"
NSA Nuhu Ribadu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The two men have had documented official contact in the course of security-related engagements. Buba was, during his tenure as security committee chairman, involved in matters concerning the country’s security architecture, while Ribadu served as the President’s National Security Adviser.<\/p>\n

Buba has also spoken publicly about knowing Ribadu before Ribadu became NSA.<\/p>\n

Their association, however, should not be presented as evidence of wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the fact that Buba had official interactions with the NSA is unsurprising given his former position as chairman of the Senate’s security and intelligence committee.<\/p>\n

The more serious question is whether the relationship has any relevance to the allegations against him.<\/p>\n

No publicly established evidence has demonstrated that Ribadu intervened to shield Buba from investigation or influenced the handling of the allegations.<\/p>\n

That is precisely why speculation should not be substituted for evidence.<\/p>\n

Then came the viral videos<\/strong><\/p>\n

The latest controversy began with videos circulated online and presented as showing suspected bandit kingpins visiting Buba’s residence.<\/p>\n

A resident identified as Hassan also made allegations against the senator, including claims that individuals connected to notorious bandit kingpin Dogo Gide were brought to Abuja for training through an aide allegedly linked to Buba.<\/p>\n

Buba has categorically denied the allegations.<\/p>\n

He has instead offered an alternative explanation for the videos.<\/p>\n

According to the senator, some of the people shown in the footage were visitors who had legitimate reasons to come to his residence. He said some footage had been taken secretly by a young man whom he had previously assisted.<\/p>\n

Buba has also alleged that the videos were subsequently used as part of an extortion and blackmail campaign.<\/p>\n

Recent reporting says five suspects were arraigned in Abuja in October 2025 in a case involving allegations including cyberstalking, criminal defamation, advance-fee fraud and extortion connected to the dispute.<\/p>\n

The development provides another dimension to the controversy: whether some of the material being circulated about Buba is itself the product of an organised blackmail operation.<\/p>\n

But again, the existence of an extortion case does not automatically dispose of the underlying questions about the senator’s relationships or contacts.<\/p>\n

Those issues still require evidence.<\/p>\n

Buba’s defence: legitimate security contacts, not criminal sponsorship<\/strong><\/p>\n

In his latest statement, Buba said his initial reluctance to respond publicly was deliberate.<\/p>\n

He argued that his previous responsibilities as chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence required discretion.<\/p>\n

According to him, security officials and political office holders cannot always publicly disclose the circumstances surrounding sensitive meetings or contacts because doing so could expose intelligence sources, compromise operations or place individuals at risk.<\/p>\n

That argument is plausible in principle.<\/p>\n

But it also creates an obvious difficulty.<\/p>\n

If the senator’s explanation for certain contacts depends on classified or sensitive information, the public may be unable to independently verify his account.<\/p>\n

That leaves the responsibility with the security agencies.<\/p>\n

They are the institutions capable of determining whether an alleged bandit was actually a bandit, whether a meeting took place for legitimate reasons, whether money changed hands and whether any political figure facilitated criminal activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cScrutiny must be based on facts\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Buba has now challenged his accusers to produce evidence.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI welcome scrutiny. But scrutiny must be fair.\u201d<\/p>\n

He drew a distinction between investigation and fabrication, criticism and blackmail, and political opposition and character assassination.<\/p>\n

He also warned against treating repeated social-media claims as established facts simply because the same allegations have been circulated repeatedly.<\/p>\n

That argument deserves consideration, particularly in an environment where old footage can be recaptioned and redistributed as new evidence.<\/p>\n

But the same principle applies in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n

A politician cannot expect his denial alone to settle serious allegations involving national security.<\/p>\n

The proper answer is evidence.<\/p>\n

What the DSS needs to clarify<\/strong><\/p>\n

The DSS now sits at the centre of the controversy.<\/p>\n

The agency has acknowledged that the allegations exist and, when contacted by journalists, said its findings would be made public at the appropriate time.<\/p>\n

That leaves several questions unanswered.<\/p>\n

Did the DSS investigate the 2024 Hajj allegations?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Was Abubakar Idris actually investigated as a suspected bandit?<\/p>\n

What did the agency establish about the circumstances in which he was registered for Hajj?<\/p>\n

Was Buba questioned?<\/p>\n

Was the senator cleared?<\/p>\n

Was any security report submitted to the Presidency?<\/p>\n

If there was no evidence of wrongdoing, why has that conclusion not been publicly stated?<\/p>\n

And if there was evidence of wrongdoing, what action followed?<\/p>\n

These are not merely political questions.<\/p>\n

They go to the credibility of Nigeria’s security and intelligence system.<\/p>\n

A political battle now wrapped around a security controversy<\/strong><\/p>\n

The timing of the renewed allegations is particularly significant.<\/p>\n

Buba has left the APC and is pursuing the governorship of Bauchi State under the PRP.<\/p>\n

His political conflict with Bala Mohammed has already been public and bitter.<\/p>\n

His former role placed him close to the country’s security establishment.<\/p>\n

His relationship with senior security officials, including the NSA, has attracted political commentary.<\/p>\n

And now, just as the 2027 political contest begins to take shape, allegations first raised in 2024 have returned through a new generation of viral videos and social-media accusations.<\/p>\n

That does not prove a conspiracy against Buba.<\/p>\n

Neither does it prove that the allegations are true.<\/p>\n

What it does demonstrate is that the controversy has moved beyond a simple dispute between one senator and one governor.<\/p>\n

It has become a test of whether Nigeria’s security institutions can investigate politically sensitive allegations involving a serving senator and publish enough of their findings to allow the public to distinguish evidence from propaganda.<\/p>\n

The burden now shifts to evidence<\/strong><\/p>\n

Buba says he has nothing to hide.<\/p>\n

His critics say the allegations deserve a proper investigation.<\/p>\n

Dalung wants the DSS to disclose the outcome of its earlier investigation.<\/p>\n

The governor’s 2024 petition remains part of the public record.<\/p>\n

The senator’s former security-committee position makes the issue unusually sensitive.<\/p>\n

The alleged political rivalry with Bala Mohammed provides a possible motive for partisan attacks \u2014 but it does not by itself disprove the allegations.<\/p>\n

And the existence of an alleged extortion campaign surrounding some of the viral material does not, by itself, resolve every question raised by the earlier Hajj controversy.<\/p>\n

There is only one credible way through the competing narratives.<\/p>\n

Investigate. Verify. Publish what can lawfully be published. And let the evidence decide.<\/p>\n

Until that happens, the allegations against Senator Shehu Buba remain allegations – serious enough to warrant scrutiny, but not established facts upon which a criminal conclusion can responsibly be based.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From a 2024 Hajj controversy to viral videos, political warfare and calls for a DSS disclosure, the allegations against the Bauchi senator have refused to disappear Senator Shehu Buba Umar has finally broken his silence over a fresh wave of allegations linking him to suspected bandit kingpins, dismissing the claims as fabricated, politically motivated and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":96233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5777,7],"tags":[1092,837,2123,4766,142],"class_list":["post-100126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-features","category-news","tag-bala","tag-bauchi","tag-buba","tag-ribadu","tag-senate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=100126"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100127,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100126\/revisions\/100127"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/96233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=100126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=100126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=100126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}