Shehu Buba Denies Link to Banditry, Says Viral Videos Were Misrepresented

From Paul Orude, Bauchi

Senator representing Bauchi South Senatorial District, Shehu Buba, has denied allegations linking him to banditry, describing videos circulating on social media purportedly showing bandit kingpins visiting his residence as fabricated and part of a sustained campaign of disinformation.

Buba, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Livestock and Animal Husbandry and the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) governorship candidate in Bauchi State, made the denial in a statement issued on Sunday.

He said he had initially refrained from responding to the allegations because of his previous responsibility as Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, noting that national security matters often required discretion.

According to him, the latest allegations became necessary to address after the repeated circulation of videos and claims linking him to suspected bandits.

Buba traced the controversy to September 15, 2024, when Umar Shayi allegedly led a militia group said to be operating as hunters for the Bauchi State Agency for Vigilante and Youth Empowerment and reportedly killed two charcoal sellers.

He said he visited the families of the victims in his capacity as the elected senator for the district, condemned the killings and called on authorities to ensure justice.

The senator alleged that following his intervention, the then Bauchi State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Abubakar Abdulhamid Bununu, publicly linked him to banditry.

He also denied an allegation that he sponsored a suspected bandit kingpin to perform the 2024 Hajj through an aide identified as Yahaya Ibrahim, saying he had no aide by that name.

Buba said his sponsorship of pilgrims, scholarships, medical interventions and empowerment programmes had always been based on recommendations from community and religious leaders.

He said he subsequently sought legal redress over the allegations by filing a defamation suit, marked CV/413/2024, before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.

On the viral videos, Buba said a fact-check established that the materials combined two unrelated video clips.

He explained that one showed Hajj returnees from Kaduna who visited his residence in 2023, while another featured different individuals displaying passports.
He said the claim that the clips constituted evidence of bandits visiting his residence was false.

The senator also linked some of the photographs and videos to a young man, Hassan Husseini, whom he said was introduced to him in 2024 as an orphan in need of educational assistance.

According to him, he enrolled Husseini in a private college in Kaduna and an Islamic school and provided him with a bicycle before the young man abandoned his education and requested money to establish a car dealership.

Buba said he later discovered that Husseini had recorded photographs and videos of visitors to his residence, which subsequently became the basis of allegations circulated on social media.

He added that after the materials were circulated and individuals allegedly demanded money from him, he petitioned the Nigeria Police Force on September 9, 2025.

He said five suspects were subsequently arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges including criminal conspiracy, cyberstalking, criminal defamation, advance-fee fraud and extortion.

Buba said the case, which he identified as Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/526/2025, was before the court and that the next hearing was scheduled for September 29, 2026.

He further said he had submitted a criminal complaint to the Public Prosecutor at the Tribunal of First Instance in Niamey, Niger Republic, against Hassan Saleh Hussein over alleged defamation and insult through electronic communication.

On his record in the security sector, Buba said he had advocated a combination of kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to tackling insecurity, including community engagement, dialogue, intelligence gathering, deradicalisation and confidence-building.

He said some security-related interventions could not be publicly discussed because revealing the identities of intermediaries or operational information could endanger individuals and undermine ongoing efforts.

The senator also rejected what he described as political character assassination, following comments made in July 2026 by former Bauchi State governor and APC governorship candidate Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, SAN, concerning the source of his wealth.

Buba said political disagreements should be debated on the basis of policies, competence and vision rather than what he described as fabricated allegations.

He urged journalists, editors, fact-checkers, civil society organisations and Nigerians to independently verify the viral materials, establish the identities of individuals involved, review court records and consult relevant security institutions before reaching conclusions.

“I do not claim immunity from scrutiny,” Buba said, adding that as a senator and gubernatorial candidate, he accepted that his actions and associations would be examined.

He, however, maintained that there was a distinction between legitimate investigation and what he described as fabrication, blackmail and deliberate character assassination.

Buba said he would continue to defend his name through lawful means while remaining committed to serving his constituents and contributing to peace and security in the country.