Sahara reporters has taken to its official X handle and announced that, Senator Shehu Umar Buba (APC–Bauchi South), Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, is under intense fire as a storm of allegations threatens to upend his political career — from alleged backdoor deals with a notorious terror kingpin, to accusations of fueling sectarian strife, to claims of aiding wanted criminals in foreign travels.
In Plateau State, Senator Buba stands accused of fanning religious flames in the volatile city of Jos. According to multiple local sources, he is bankrolling the construction of a multi-million-naira Juma’at mosque in the Zinariya neighbourhood — just a few meters from the long-standing Abu Huraira Juma’at Mosque of the Dariqa Sufi Brotherhood.
The new mosque is allegedly for the rival Jama’atul Izalatul Bidi’a Wa’ikamatus Sunnah faction, led by Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau — a group whose long history of combative sermons with the Sufi sect has often triggered violent clashes.
What has shocked many is the claim that Buba purchased and demolished a church in the area to make way for the mosque. Christian leaders have condemned the move as a blatant provocation, warning it could destabilise the fragile peace in Jos.
Meanwhile, critics in his home constituency of Toro have questioned why the senator is funding a mosque project in Jos while leaving an unfinished mosque in his own community to gather dust.
Perhaps the most damaging allegation is Senator Buba’s reported involvement in brokering a “peace agreement” with Bello Turji — one of Nigeria’s most wanted armed bandits, accused of masterminding mass killings, kidnappings, rapes, and village burnings across the North-West.
The deal, reportedly facilitated through Kaduna-based cleric Sheikh Musa Asadus-Sunnah, has drawn fierce criticism from Muslim clerics and security experts alike, who insist Turji should face the full weight of the law, not political appeasement.
Prominent northern preacher Sheikh Murtala Asadah warned that pardoning Turji could be a political suicide move for President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 elections, accusing the government of ethnic bias.
Fueling the controversy further, some APC loyalists claim Buba’s alleged closeness to opposition leader Atiku Abubakar makes him a “mole” within the party, undermining both its image and its unity.
This is not the first time Senator Buba has been linked to allegations of aiding criminals. In October 2024, the Department of State Services (DSS) reportedly investigated him for allegedly sponsoring Abubakar Idris — a wanted Zamfara bandit — to perform the Hajj in Saudi Arabia.
According to security sources cited by THISDAY, Idris was registered through Buba’s senior legislative aide. DSS operatives allegedly intercepted his passport during processing, leading to his arrest. This incident raised serious questions about why a man under security scrutiny was allowed to oversee national security and intelligence matters in the Senate.
Buba’s political troubles escalated on May 23, 2025, when angry youths in Toro openly booed and confronted him during a condolence visit. Chanting “Bamayi” (“We are not doing you again”), the protesters accused him of neglecting their community and sabotaging the recruitment of 12 Toro indigenes into the Nigerian Army.
Eyewitnesses say Buba attempted to calm the situation by distributing cash, but the youths flatly rejected the gesture, demanding genuine development projects instead of “brown envelope politics.”
While Senator Buba has yet to respond to the latest round of accusations, he has consistently dismissed allegations of bandit ties as “baseless, fabricated, and malicious.”
In an earlier rebuttal to a petition by Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, he insisted:
> “I cannot be intimidated by such allegations… I do not have a senior legislative aide named Yahaya Ibrahim. I sponsor numerous individuals for the pilgrimage each year based on recommendations from elders, community leaders, and religious figures. Hajia Zainab Ali was screened and permitted for Hajj, while Abubakar Idris was arrested for investigation without any interference from my office.”
Buba further claimed that, as chairman of the Senate’s National Security and Intelligence Committee, he has “actively championed counterinsurgency and anti-banditry efforts that are beginning to yield positive results.”
PIONEER NEWS 