Bauchi, Nigeria — September 14, 2026
Senator Shehu Buba Umar, who represents Bauchi South Senatorial District, has voluntarily submitted himself to the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force, and the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) for investigation over allegations linking him to banditry, terrorism financing, kidnapping, and other violent crimes.
Speaking at a press conference in Bauchi on Monday, Buba categorically denied sponsoring, financing, arming, facilitating, or supporting bandits, terrorists, kidnappers, or any criminal organisation. He said he had deliberately remained silent for the past month due to the sensitivity of his official responsibilities and legal restrictions tied to matters already before the courts, but decided to act after the allegations moved beyond social media speculation.
“I have nothing to hide, and I have nothing to fear from any legitimate investigation,” Buba said, adding: “Do not hide behind social media. Do not rely on edited videos, insinuations, propaganda or anonymous allegations.”
The senator said his legal team, led by former Nigerian Bar Association President and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, had formally written to the DSS, DIA, and police requesting a comprehensive investigation. He noted that similar allegations first surfaced against him in 2014 and were investigated and dismissed at the time, but said related accusations had resurfaced periodically in different forms since. He challenged anyone with actual evidence connecting him to banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, or the financing of criminal groups to submit it to the relevant authorities, and said some individuals accused of circulating the current claims were already facing proceedings before the Federal High Court in Abuja, with a case tied to the matter next scheduled for September 29, 2026.
Buba, who chairs the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence and is the Peoples Redemption Party’s (PRP) governorship candidate for Bauchi State in 2027, has described the renewed allegations as a politically motivated campaign timed to damage his reputation ahead of the election.
Prior calls for investigation
Monday’s press conference is the latest chapter in a controversy that has drawn repeated public calls for Buba’s investigation over the past two years.
Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed first raised the matter formally in a petition to President Bola Tinubu dated September 19, 2024, alleging that Buba, through an aide identified as Yahaya Ibrahim, had registered and funded a suspected Zamfara bandit, Abubakar Idris, along with one Zainab Gado, for that year’s Hajj pilgrimage. The petition stated that DSS operatives had subsequently sought the pair’s travel documents from the Bauchi State Muslims Pilgrims Welfare Board, and Idris was later detained on suspicion of banditry and kidnapping in Zamfara State. Buba has denied any connection to the named aide and said he invited security agencies to investigate the claim at the time.
More recently, the Igbo Community Association of the Federal Capital Territory (ICA FCT) — which describes itself as the apex body representing more than 2.8 million Igbo residents in Abuja — issued a statement condemning what it called the continued failure of Nigeria’s security and investigative agencies to investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute the senator. In a statement signed by its President-General, Ikenna Ellis-Ezenekwe, and Secretary-General, Chinwoke Emmanuel Onah, the association said the prolonged inaction was becoming increasingly difficult to explain, suggesting it could be interpreted as protection, and called for Nigerians to be told why no decisive action had been taken despite the DSS and the presidency reportedly being alerted to the allegations.
Other groups have echoed the call, including the Bauchi Youth Discussion Circle, which urged Tinubu to direct the police and DSS to treat the matter as a national security issue rather than political propaganda. Buba’s party, the PRP, has pushed back on the allegations, describing them as the work of political detractors threatened by the senator’s rising popularity ahead of 2027.
Neither the DSS, the police, nor the DIA had issued a public statement on the outcome of any investigation as of this writing.
