TD A man identified as Hassan has made fresh and serious allegations against Senator Shehu Buba Umar, claiming that suspected bandits collected guns and ammunition from the senator’s residence shortly before a deadly attack in Benue State.
Hassan made the allegations in a video interview circulating on social media.
In the video, he claimed that he secretly recorded the alleged activity after being ordered to surrender his phone because recording inside the premises was prohibited.
According to Hassan, he handed over his phone to avoid raising suspicion.
He, however, subsequently obtained another handset from a friend and allegedly hid it inside a toilet in the compound.
He claimed that he concealed the device under tissue paper before secretly recording.
Hassan described the incident as the arrival and collection of weapons, ammunition and other materials by suspected bandits.
“I took this video evidence when those bandits came to the senator’s house to collect weapons, ammunition and guns before launching an attack in Benue State,” he said in the video.
He further alleged that the weapons were distributed before an attack was subsequently carried out in Benue State.
Hassan: secret recording was to preserve evidence
Hassan said he believed that refusing to surrender his first phone could have placed his life in danger.
He added that he took the risk of secretly recording the alleged activities because he wanted to preserve evidence.
He also alleged that individuals connected to notorious bandit commander Dogo Gide were among those linked to the activities he described.
The latest allegation forms part of a broader series of claims Hassan has made against Senator Buba.
Some claims include allegations that individuals linked to criminal groups were brought to Abuja for specialised training.
Previous reports have established that Hassan has publicly identified Buba as the senator he accuses of facilitating or supporting criminal elements.
Those allegations, however, have not been independently established as fact.
Alleged Condolence Visit
Hassan also drew attention to what he described as a connection between the alleged weapons collection and the aftermath of the Benue attack.
He claimed that, following the attack, Senator Buba and a person he described as the senator’s “godfather” were among individuals sent by the Federal Government to the affected area on a condolence visit.
Hassan presented this sequence of events as suspicious.
He urged viewers to consider whether the alleged activities before the attack and the subsequent condolence visit were connected.
However, the allegation that the senator supplied weapons to bandits or was involved in the Benue attack has not been independently verified.
So far, no public court judgment establishing such criminal conduct has been identified in the available reporting.
Senator Buba Rejects Allegations
Senator Shehu Buba has repeatedly denied allegations linking him to banditry and terrorism.
He described the circulating videos and accusations as a campaign of disinformation and character assassination.
In his response to earlier viral footage, Buba said some of the videos had been manipulated or presented without their original context.
He specifically stated that one of the widely circulated clips showed Hajj returnees who visited his residence in 2023, rather than bandit leaders.
An investigation by PRNigeria similarly concluded that an earlier viral video had combined two unrelated clips.
One shows Kaduna-based pilgrims visiting Buba in 2023, while the other shows different individuals displaying passports.
PRNigeria rated the viral presentation “False and Misleading.”
That finding does not, by itself, establish whether Hassan’s separate allegations concerning weapons and ammunition are true or false.
Nonetheless, it demonstrates why the provenance and authenticity of the footage currently circulating require independent verification.
No Established Finding of Sponsorship
A recent review of publicly available records found that there is no publicly known court judgment or official finding establishing that the senator sponsored terrorism or banditry.
This is despite repeated allegations against him.
Buba has also said that he has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police over the said allegations.
He further claimed that suspects connected to the wider controversy have been arrested and prosecuted.
The controversy has intensified as Buba prepares for the 2027 political contest in Bauchi State, where he is the Peoples Redemption Party’s governorship candidate.
He has described the latest accusations as politically motivated attacks intended to damage his reputation.
Investigation needed
Hassan’s latest account raises questions that could potentially be resolved through forensic examination of the video.
These include:
- determining when and where the footage was recorded,
- identifying the people and objects shown,
- establishing whether the weapons were genuine firearms and ammunition, and,
- verifying whether the location was actually connected to Senator Buba.
Other potentially verifiable evidence would include:
- security-camera recordings,
- phone metadata,
- travel records,
- eyewitness testimony, and,
- any available security or intelligence reports concerning the alleged movement of weapons before the Benue attack.
Until such evidence is independently authenticated, Hassan’s account remains an allegation, not established proof of Senator Buba’s involvement in banditry or the Benue massacre.
The video, however, has renewed calls for Nigerian security agencies to investigate the allegations.
The ought to determine whether the footage contains evidence of criminal activity or is another instance of manipulated or misrepresented material.
