Senator Shehu Umar Buba (APC, Bauchi South), Senate Committee Chairman on National Security and Intelligence, is facing backlash over the ongoing peace treaty efforts with notorious bandit Bello Turji, mosque construction in Jos, among others.
However, this is not the first time the controversial lawmaker would be swimming in political scandals having being reportedly investigated for allegedly sponsoring bandits to Hajj pilgrimage last year — the terrorists who were wanted for wanton terror activities that include mass murder of innocent citizens including women, the aged and children, maiming of villages, kidnapping for ransom, rape of women and girls, among others.
The senator is also currently enmeshed in alleged divisive activities in Plateau State that fan the embers of religious discord, disharmony, and intolerance that more often than not snowball into religious conflagration, among others.
SOWING RELIGIOUS DISCORD IN JOS
Senator Buba is currently in the news for the wrong reason again, by reportedly trying to fan religious conflict between two Islamic groups in Jos, Plateau State.
This is coming at a time when the state is struggling to manage an internecine ethno-religious and communal conflict that resulted in the mass murder of innocent citizens and destruction of property.
The senator, it was reliably learned, is building a multi-million naira Juma’at Mosque in Jos — that is just one house away from another mosque, Abu Huraira Juma’at Mosque on the same street. The Abu Huraira Masjid belongs to the Dariqa Sufi Brotherhood.
The new Juma’at mosque being constructed by Senator Buba, it was reliably gathered, is located at Sharna Street in the Zinariya neighbourhood, off Bauchi Road.
The lawmaker, according to investigations, is building the new mosque for the Jama’atul Izalatul Bidi’a Wa’ikamatus Sunnah faction led by Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau.
Many residents accuse the senator of trying to foment a crisis between the Dariqa group (owners of the older Masjid Abu Huraira) and the Izala group.
The possibility of violent conflict between the adherents of the two conflicting religious groups is very high, bearing in mind the ferocious and combative nature of the sermons (khutbah) by the prayer leaders of the two mosques.
To further deepen the interfaith tension in Plateau state, insiders said, Senator Buba used his influence to buy a church and demolished it, and build the contentious mosque on the land.
This development, it was revealed, is not settling well with the Christian community, which considers the lawmaker’s action an affront to their religious identity.
Many of the constituents of the senator have expressed their displeasure over the new mosque construction in Jos, having refused to complete another mosque in his constituency of Toro, Bauchi state.
The constituents have expressed outrage on social media, accusing the senator of double standards.
BACKLASH OVER PEACE TREATY WITH TERROR KINGPIN BELLO TURJI
Senator Buba is also fanning the embers of disunity among Muslim clerics, particularly in the North-West zone, over his controversial peace treaty with terror kingpin Bello Turji.
Bello Turji is wanted by security agencies over the mass murder of innocent citizens, destruction of villages and hamlets, kidnapping for ransom, among other terror-related activities.
Recently, the peace treaty has been the subject of sermons and preachments across many Juma’at mosques’ pulpits and preaching sessions in the North-West, with many Muslim clerics forming a consensus against the planned peace deal with Turji.
Senator Buba has picked a Kaduna-based cleric, Sheikh Musa Asadus-Sunnah, for the Turji peace treaty assignment. Instead of eliciting support from the people and the clerics, the deal ended up backfiring, leading to coordinated attacks on the personality of the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, and President Bola Tinubu.
Mr Asadu- Sunnah, a nondescript cleric known for his confrontational posture on national issues, observers said, has successfully aborted the peace deal at its nascent stage through his unguarded and insensitive vituperations.
Senator Buba’s peace deal through Mr Asadus Sunnah has ignited torrents of counter-offensives from various Muslim clerics, such as the famous and vocal Sheikh Murtala Asadah Sokoto. Due to the poorly packaged delivery of the peace deal from Asadus- Sunnah, the likes of Sheikh Asadah have leveraged on that to marshal convincing reasons why Bello Turji — who is evidently on the run because of security agencies’ latest offensives – should not be pardoned.
Intelligence sources have indicated that the large following of clerics like Sheikh Asadah and his meticulous nature of preachments is gaining ground in the society, that the NSA has initiated the peace deal with Bello Turji because of ethnic considerations. This mindset is gaining ground across the North-West, thereby soiling the reputation of Mr Ribadu as an ethic bigot.
To further worsen the situation, security sources have confirmed that this narrative is going to be used against President Bola Tinubu during the build-up to the 2027 general elections. Sheikh Asadah, this newspaper observed, has vowed to mobilise the Northerners against Mr Tinubu in 2027 because of the peace deal with the bloodthirsty terrorist.
Many of the people interviewed have said these accusations against Ribadu and Tinubu are gaining believability because of Senator Buba’s political double standards. Many see Senator Buba, an associate of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, as doing to PDP/ADC while in APC what FCT Minister Nyesom Wike is doing to APC while in PDP.
Many APC stalwarts, insiders said, consider Senator Buba as Atiku’s mole in APC, holding a strategic position. The senator’s peace deal with bandits is creating more enemies for the APC administration than imagined. They said, like Mr Buba, Mr Asadus-Sunnah, was also an Atiku man after publicly campaigning against the APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2023.
SPONSORSHIP OF WANTED TERRORISTS TO HAJJ PILGRIMAGE
On October 2, 2024, the Department of State Services (DSS) reportedly investigated Senator Buba over alleged sponsorship of a wanted notorious bandit, Abubakar Idris, to Hajj.
Multiple reports indicated that the DSS has launched an investigation into Senator Buba over his alleged link to notorious bandit Abubakar Idris.
THISDAY reported that a security report on the senator had been forwarded to President Bola Tinubu.
The security report, according to the newspaper, specifically alleged that the Bauchi South senator, through one of aides, registered the notorious bandit, Abubakar Idris, as a pilgrim to Saudi Arabia to perform 2024 Hajj.
The development, the newspaper said, citing security sources, forced the DSS operatives to invade the Bauchi State Muslims’ Pilgrims Welfare Board during the 2024 Hajj operations.
The security source further explained that the personnel of the secret police demanded for the e-passports of Abubakar Idris and one Zainab Aliyu Gado who were both registered as intending pilgrims with the board.
Unfortunately, the source noted, the e-passport of the said Zainab had already been released and she had travelled out for the Hajj, while that of Idris was released to the secret service.
THISDAY said Idris had since been arrested and detained by the DSS. Idris, according to the security source, was suspected of banditry and kidnapping activities in Zamfara State.
The security report said the two pilgrims were allegedly registered, among others, through one Yahaya Ibrahim, a Senior Legislative Aide to Senator Buba.
The security sources expressed dismay, lamenting the senator’s alleged complicity in supporting, enabling and empowering bandits to cause mayhem and go unscathed.
Many wonder why such a lawmaker on the radar of security agencies will be shouldered with the responsibility of chairing the Senate committee on national security and intelligence.
BOOED BY CONSTITUENTS OVER ALLEGED SABOTAGE
On May 23, 2025, aggrieved youths in Toro, headquarters of Toro LGA of Bauchi, trooped out in their hundreds to show their anger over perceived neglect by Senator Buba since he was elected.
Reports from the area indicated that youths, cutting across political divide, took to the streets, booing the Senator, shouting in Hausa, “Bamayi”, “Mun gaji da kai”, translating in English, “We are not doing you again”, “We are tired of you”.
Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred on Friday, May 24, 2025, at about 8 pm when the Senator visited the town to pay a condolence visit following the death of Imam Abdulkadir Abubakar, the Chief Imam of the Central Mosque in Toro.
Sources said though there was no clear justification for the protest and booing of the Senator, it could be attributed to recent allegations that Senator Buba was responsible for the rejection of 12 Toro indigenes from being recruited into the Nigerian Army training camp.
It was reported that the 12 people who were shortlisted to be part of the recruitment as facilitated by another son of the area, were discharged on the instructions of the Senator.
Additionally, the development was said to have been aggravated by frustration over the Senator’s seeming neglect of the people of Toro town, having not initiated any projects in the town since taking office two years ago despite having one of his Legislative Aides from the town.
It was reported that despite arriving quietly at night, hundreds of the youths gathered on Mallallawa Street, chanting “Bamayi, Bamayi, Karyane,” and attempting to chase him out of the town.
Although his current Special Legislative Assistant (SLA) and some aides tried to calm the crowd, the youths continued their chant of “Bamayi” forcing the Senator and his entourage to halt their movement.
In an attempt to ease the situation, the Senator was said to have offered the youths some money, but they turned it down, insisting that their concern was not financial, but a listening ear from the Senator, because they played a major role in his election.
Many attempts to obtain comments for the story were not successful, as the senator’s known mobile number was not reachable for two days.
However, the senator had earlier described the bandits’ collusion allegations against him as baseless, fabricated and malicious and that: “I cannot be intimidated by such allegations.”
Shehu Buba said, “As chairman of a critical senate committee, I have actively championed and supported initiatives aimed at counter-insurgency and anti-banditry, which have begun to yield positive results.”
