Senator Shehu Buba invited formal scrutiny of allegations linking him to a suspected bandit, saying he will not evade legitimate investigations and that the videos circulated against him are fabricated. The senator, the Peoples Redemption Party governorship candidate in Bauchi, signed a statement on Sunday rejecting claims he sponsored bandits or hosted kingpins at his home.
Calls for an inquiry have grown louder since former Minister Solomon Dalung urged the Department of State Services to publish the outcome of its probe into alleged links between Buba and Abubakar Idris. Dalung said the matter raises national security questions and should not be dismissed as mere political offence-taking.
Buba told supporters his opponents are using edited footage to smear him and that the materials have been filed in Nigerian courts and at the Court of First Instance in Niger Republic. He described the clips as false and malicious, and blamed a coordinated campaign driven by financial interests and partisan aims rather than a search for truth. He also challenged anyone with credible evidence to present it to the appropriate authorities.
He urged calm among his followers and asked them to concentrate on winning the 2027 election. "Let us remain calm, disciplined and committed to the democratic process," he said. He added that he will defend his reputation through lawful channels, and that he has nothing to hide.
Buba framed his earlier restraint as a product of his security responsibilities. As a senator and a former chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, now chairing the Senate Committee on Livestock and Animal Husbandry, he said discretion was necessary to avoid jeopardising operations or endangering sources. That caution, he said, explained why he did not respond immediately to the circulating videos.
On policy, Buba argued Nigeria needs complementary non-kinetic strategies to tackle insecurity, including community engagement, dialogue, intelligence gathering, deradicalisation and confidence-building. He asked editors, journalists, fact-checkers, civil society and opinion leaders to verify the origins of the videos, check court records and consult security institutions before treating recycled allegations as evidence.
The senator closed by restating his record of public service and asking that scrutiny be fair and fact-based. He said the facts should prevail over propaganda and signalled he will continue both to court voters and to contest the allegations through legal and institutional channels.
