•Says opponents desperate to damage his reputation
The governorship candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) in Bauchi State, Senator Shehu Buba, has accused his political opponents of circulating manipulated videos in an attempt to link him with alleged bandit kingpins.
Buba, who is representing Bauchi South Senatorial District, said the videos being circulated on social media were fake and had been deliberately presented out of context to damage his reputation ahead of the 2027 elections.
The former Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, in a statement issued in Abuja, said he had neither sponsored bandits nor hosted bandit kingpins in his residence.
He described the campaign as “a coordinated” attempt to tarnish his image, urging those making the allegations to present any credible evidence to relevant authorities rather than resorting to social media claims.
Buba said he had already commenced legal action against individuals behind the alleged manipulated materials, including proceedings before courts in Nigeria and the Court of First Instance in Niger Republic.
He said: “My decision to leave the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), under whose platform I am pursuing my gubernatorial aspiration, should be debated on policies, competence and vision—not on fabricated allegations.”
According to him, his public record remained open to scrutiny, but such scrutiny must be based on verifiable facts.
“I welcome scrutiny, but scrutiny must be fair. I do not claim immunity from scrutiny. As a Senator, a former Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, currently chairing the Senate Committee on Livestock and Animal Husbandry, and now a gubernatorial candidate, I recognise that my actions and associations will be examined. That is democracy,” he said.
Buba argued that legitimate criticism should not be confused with what he described as blackmail or deliberate character assassination.
“There is a difference between investigation and fabrication, between criticism and blackmail, and between political opposition and deliberate character assassination,” he added.
The senator also explained why he had initially refrained from responding to the videos, saying his previous responsibility in the Senate required discretion on matters relating to national security.
He said his two-year tenure as chairman of the national security committee exposed him to sensitive intelligence and engagements whose details could not always be made public.
“National security demands discretion. Operational successes cannot always be publicised without jeopardising ongoing efforts, exposing sources or endangering individuals and communities involved in sensitive interventions,” he said.
Buba said his approach to insecurity had involved both military action and non-kinetic measures, including community engagement, dialogue, intelligence gathering, deradicalisation and confidence-building.
“Nigeria cannot defeat insecurity by military force alone. Sustainable security requires winning the trust of vulnerable communities, strengthening local intelligence networks and creating pathways for cooperation with legitimate authorities,” he said.
He added that some of the security interventions he participated in could not be publicly discussed because doing so could expose intermediaries and other individuals involved.
On the viral videos, the senator appealed to journalists, editors, fact-checkers and civil society organisations to independently investigate their origins and authenticity.
