By David Lawani
Senator Shehu Buba has challenged journalists, fact-checkers, civil society groups and security agencies to independently verify viral videos allegedly linking him to bandit kingpins, insisting that the materials were manipulated from unrelated footage and do not establish any wrongdoing.
The Bauchi South senator, responding to sustained allegations over his alleged association with bandits, said the videos circulating on social media combined clips recorded at different times and involving different individuals.
Buba said scrutiny of public officials was legitimate but warned against recycling and editing old materials to create what he described as false narratives.
“Verify the videos. Examine their origins. Establish the identities of the individuals involved. Review court records. Consult relevant security institutions. Subject my explanations to scrutiny as well,” he said.
The senator said the latest controversy began in August 2026 after a content creator known as “D English Alhaji” circulated videos alleging that bandit kingpins visited his residence.
According to him, the materials were later found to comprise two unrelated clips.
“A subsequent fact-check established that the viral material combined two unrelated clips: footage of Kaduna-based Hajj returnees who visited my residence in 2023, and a separate clip showing different individuals displaying passports,” Buba said.
He argued that the differences between those featured in the clips were apparent, noting that those in one video spoke Fulfulde while those in the other spoke English.
“The claim that these clips constitute evidence of bandits visiting my residence is false,” he said, insisting that allegations made through viral videos must meet proper evidentiary standards.
Buba disclosed that he had filed a criminal complaint through a legal practitioner in Niger Republic against Hassan Saleh Hussein over alleged defamation and insult via electronic communication.
He said he initially resisted responding publicly to the allegations because of the sensitivity of his previous responsibilities as Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence.
“Operational successes cannot always be publicised without jeopardising ongoing efforts, exposing sources or endangering individuals and communities involved in sensitive interventions,” he said.
However, he said the repeated circulation of the videos and increasingly serious allegations had compelled him to present his account.
Buba traced the controversy to September 2024, after he intervened in the killing of two charcoal sellers allegedly by a militia group said to be operating as hunters in Bauchi State.
He said he visited the families of the victims, demanded justice and subsequently faced allegations linking him to banditry, which he described as false and unsupported.
The senator also denied allegations that he sponsored a purported bandit kingpin for the 2024 Hajj, saying he had challenged security agencies to investigate the claim.
“I categorically denied these allegations. I stated that I had no aide by the name cited and invited security agencies to investigate,” he said.
Buba further addressed the circumstances surrounding Hassan Husseini, saying the young man was introduced to him in 2024 as an orphan requiring educational assistance.
He said Hassan was enrolled in schools in Kaduna but later abandoned his education and allegedly requested money to establish a car dealership.
“I declined and advised him to return to school. I later discovered that, while under my care, he had recorded photographs and videos of visitors to my residence,” Buba said.
He alleged that the materials were later circulated alongside demands for money, prompting him to petition the police in September 2025.
According to him, five suspects were subsequently arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges including conspiracy, cyberstalking, criminal defamation, advance-fee fraud and extortion. He said the matter remains before the court.
Buba challenged anyone with credible evidence of wrongdoing against him to submit it to relevant authorities.
“I welcome scrutiny, but scrutiny must be fair. I do not claim immunity from scrutiny,” he said.
“There is a difference between investigation and fabrication, between criticism and blackmail, and between political opposition and deliberate character assassination.”
He urged journalists and fact-checkers to resist disinformation, adding, “The facts should speak louder than propaganda.”
