Senator Shehu Buba, who represents Bauchi South Senatorial District, has rejected fresh allegations linking him to banditry, describing viral videos and claims circulating on social media as fabricated and part of a campaign to damage his reputation.
The senator, who previously chaired the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence and currently heads the Senate Committee on Livestock and Animal Husbandry, said allegations connecting him with suspected bandits have been circulating since 2024.
The latest claims followed videos shared by a social media content creator known as D English Alhaji, who alleged that suspected bandit leaders had visited Buba’s residence.
A resident identified as Hassan also made allegations against the senator during an interview with the content creator, including claims that individuals allegedly associated with a bandit leader had been brought to Abuja for specialised training through one of Buba’s aides.
Buba, who is also the Peoples Redemption Party’s governorship candidate in Bauchi State, dismissed the allegations in a statement, insisting that the claims were unsupported by evidence.
He said his previous position overseeing national security matters had made him reluctant to respond publicly to every allegation, stressing that national security responsibilities sometimes require discretion.
The senator traced some of the allegations to his intervention following the reported killing of two charcoal sellers in September 2024. According to him, he visited the victims’ families, demanded justice and called for measures to prevent abuses by individuals entrusted with protecting citizens.
Buba said his intervention was subsequently followed by allegations linking him to banditry. He also denied an earlier claim that he had sponsored a suspected bandit kingpin to attend the 2024 Hajj, stating that he had invited security agencies to investigate the allegation.
He further explained that some of the photographs and videos now being circulated online originated from visits to his residence by people who had sought assistance from him.
According to the senator, some of the viral footage had been combined with unrelated videos and wrongly presented as evidence of meetings with bandit leaders. He maintained that one of the clips showed Hajj returnees who visited his residence in 2023, while another showed different individuals displaying passports.
Buba said he had previously petitioned the police over the circulation of the videos and alleged attempts to extort him. He stated that several suspects were arrested and that five people were subsequently arraigned in connection with the matter.
He also disclosed that he had taken legal action over some of the allegations, including a defamation case pending before a court in Abuja.
The senator urged the public, journalists and fact-checkers to independently verify claims before accepting them as facts, arguing that viral social media content should not be treated as evidence without proper investigation.
Buba maintained that he remains open to legitimate scrutiny of his activities but insisted that political disagreements should not be turned into false allegations or character attacks.
He also defended his record on security, saying he supports a combination of security operations, community engagement, intelligence gathering and other measures to address insecurity in Nigeria.
