Powerful Nigerian Senator Allegedly Linked to Terrorism Breaks Silence
- Senator Shehu Buba issued a formal statement rejecting viral videos alleging that bandit kingpins visited his residence
- Buba traced the allegations back to September 2024, when he intervened after a militia group killed two charcoal sellers in Bauchi
- The senator said five suspects were arraigned in court in October 2025 over cyberstalking, extortion and criminal defamation linked to the videos
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Senator Shehu Buba, who represents Bauchi South Senatorial District, has rejected fresh allegations connecting him to banditry, calling viral videos and social media claims part of a coordinated effort to destroy his reputation.
In a statement titled "Setting the Record Straight: My Response to Fabricated Videos, False Allegations and a Sustained Campaign of Disinformation," released on Sunday, Buba responded directly to videos circulated by a content creator known as "D English Alhaji," who alleged that suspected bandit kingpins had visited the senator's home.
Source: Facebook
A resident identified as Hassan had also appeared in an interview with the content creator, accusing Buba of aiding bandits and claiming that individuals linked to notorious kingpin Dogo Gide were brought to Abuja for training facilitated by one of the senator's aides.
How the controversy began
Buba said the allegations originated on September 15, 2024, after a militia group allegedly led by one Umar Shayi and operating under the Bauchi State Agency for Vigilante and Youth Empowerment reportedly killed two charcoal sellers.
As the district's elected senator, Buba said he visited the victims' families and publicly condemned the killings.
He claimed that Bauchi State Commissioner for Internal Security Abubakar Bununu subsequently linked his name to banditry, which he rejected as baseless.
Governor Bala Mohammed later petitioned President Bola Tinubu, alleging that Buba had sponsored a bandit kingpin for the 2024 Hajj through an aide named Yahaya Ibrahim, Punch reported.
Buba denied knowing anyone by that name and asked security agencies to investigate.
He said he subsequently filed a defamation suit, marked CV/413/2024, at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.
The source of the viral videos
Buba said a young man named Hassan Husseini had been introduced to him in 2024 as an orphan needing educational support.
He enrolled the young man in a private college and an Islamic school in Kaduna and provided him with a bicycle. When the young man later abandoned school and asked for money to start a car dealership, Buba said he declined.
He later discovered that while living under his care, the young man had secretly recorded visitors to his residence, and that footage formed the basis of the circulating videos, Vanguard reported.
Buba said those sharing the videos later demanded money from him. He petitioned the Nigeria Police Force on September 9, 2025, leading to arrests.
On October 30, 2025, five suspects were arraigned before Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court in Abuja, in Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/526/2025, on counts including criminal conspiracy, cyberstalking, criminal defamation, advance-fee fraud and extortion. The next hearing is scheduled for September 29, 2026.
On the August 2026 videos specifically, Buba said a fact-check showed the clips combined unrelated footage: one showing Kaduna-based Hajj returnees who visited his residence in 2023, and another showing different individuals displaying passports.
Source: Facebook
He also said he had filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors in Niamey, Niger Republic, against Hassan Saleh Hussein over alleged defamation through electronic communication.
Buba, who now chairs the Senate Committee on Livestock and Animal Husbandry and is pursuing a governorship bid on the Peoples Redemption Party platform, said political opponents had intensified attacks following his departure from the All Progressives Congress.
US releases state terrorism financier list
Previously, Legit.ng reported that the United States Secretary of State determined that certain countries had repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism.
These countries were designated under three laws: section 1754(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act, and section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
Source: Legit.ng
