Shehu Buba Denies Banditry Allegations, Says Viral Videos Are ‘Disinformation’

Senator Shehu Buba, representing Bauchi South Senatorial District, has rejected fresh allegations linking him to banditry, describing viral videos and claims circulating online as part of a sustained campaign to damage his reputation.

The controversy was reignited after a content creator known as ‘D English Alhaji’ shared videos allegedly showing suspected bandit kingpins visiting the senator’s residence. A resident identified as Hassan also accused Buba during an interview with the influencer of being among politicians allegedly supporting bandits in the area.

Hassan further alleged that individuals linked to notorious bandit kingpin Dogo Gide were brought to Abuja for specialised training, allegedly with the assistance of one of Buba’s aides. The senator has rejected the claims, saying the videos being circulated have been taken out of context and wrongly presented as evidence of links to criminal groups.

Buba, who previously chaired the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence and now leads the Senate Committee on Livestock and Animal Husbandry, said he had initially avoided responding because of the sensitivity of his former security role. He argued that his silence should not be mistaken for an inability to defend himself.

The senator traced the allegations to a September 15, 2024 incident involving Umar Shayi, who allegedly led a militia group described as hunters working for the Bauchi State Agency for Vigilante and Youth Empowerment. Buba said two charcoal sellers were reportedly killed and that he visited their families, demanded justice and called for safeguards against abuses by security-related groups.

He said his intervention was followed by allegations from Bauchi State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs Abubakar Bununu linking him to banditry. Buba also recalled a separate allegation that he sponsored a suspected bandit kingpin for the 2024 Hajj, which he denied and challenged security agencies to investigate.

The senator said some of the latest videos were linked to Hassan Husseini, whom he claimed he had previously assisted after the young man was introduced to him in 2024 as an orphan in need of education. Buba said he enrolled Husseini in a private college and Islamic school in Kaduna but later rejected his request for money to start a car dealership after he abandoned his studies.

Buba alleged that Husseini had secretly recorded visitors at his residence and that some people who later circulated the materials demanded money from him. He said he reported the matter to the Nigeria Police Force in September 2025, after which several suspects were arrested and five were arraigned at the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges including criminal conspiracy, cyberstalking, criminal defamation, advance-fee fraud and extortion.

The senator also disputed the interpretation of the latest footage, saying it combined unrelated videos, including images of Kaduna-based Hajj returnees who visited his residence in 2023. He maintained that claims that the people shown were bandit kingpins were false and should be tested through proper investigation and evidence.

Buba said he has also lodged a criminal complaint in Niger Republic against Hassan Saleh Hussein over alleged defamation and insults communicated electronically. He maintained that his political ambitions, including his move from the All Progressives Congress to the Peoples Redemption Party, had intensified attacks against him, but insisted that political disagreements should be settled through debate over policies and competence rather than allegations he described as fabricated.