By Bashir Umar Kirfi ( Comr. B U Kirfi)
Our attention has been drawn to a lengthy commentary by former Minister of Youth and Sports, Barrister Solomon Dalung, concerning allegations against Senator Shehu Buba Umar.
While we ordinarily would not dignify recycled political accusations with a response, the attempt to dress unsubstantiated allegations in the language of “national security” requires clarification.
The central issue is simple: Senator Shehu Buba Umar has been accused, but no evidence establishing that he supported, financed, facilitated or participated in banditry has been presented.
Everything else in the commentary is largely speculation built around that unproven premise.
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS REQUIRE SERIOUS EVIDENCE
Barrister Dalung repeatedly asks Nigerians to take allegations seriously because they concern national security.
We agree.
But if national security is truly the concern, then the standard should be evidence—not political rhetoric.
Banditry, terrorism and kidnapping are grave criminal matters. Anyone possessing credible evidence that Senator Shehu Buba Umar knowingly assisted such activities should immediately submit that evidence to the appropriate security agencies.
What is unacceptable is to make grave allegations in public, provide no conclusive evidence, and then shift the burden to the accused to prove his innocence.
That is not justice.
That is not responsible journalism.
And it is certainly not how a serious national-security matter should be handled.
RECYCLING AN OLD ALLEGATION DOES NOT MAKE IT TRUE
The commentary spends considerable time revisiting the 2024 Hajj-related allegation involving Abubakar Idris.
Senator Buba has already addressed the matter and explained that persons sponsored for pilgrimage were recommended through community elders, leaders and religious figures.
If anyone disputes that explanation, the burden is to produce evidence showing that Senator Buba knowingly sponsored or facilitated a criminal operation.
Where is that evidence?
Where is the official finding establishing that Senator Buba knowingly dealt with a bandit?
Where is the prosecution?
Where is the charge?
Where is the conviction?
After all the insinuations, these basic questions remain unanswered.
Instead, the public is presented with a chain of words such as “suspected,” “reportedly,” “allegedly,” “could have” and “what if.”
That is not evidence.
It is speculation.
THE DSS IS NOT A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN OFFICE
The writer invokes the DSS and repeatedly asks what its alleged investigation established.
There is a very simple answer to that line of argument: if the DSS has an official finding, let the DSS speak.
Security agencies do not require political commentators to interpret their investigations for them.
If Senator Buba was found culpable, let the competent authorities state so and take lawful action.
If he was cleared, that clearance should equally be respected.
But it is intellectually dishonest to suggest that because an alleged security investigation has not been publicly debated by politicians, Senator Buba should remain permanently under suspicion.
The absence of a publicly published intelligence report is not evidence of guilt.
SENATOR BUBA’S POSITION DOES NOT MAKE HIM GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION
The attempt to repeatedly invoke Senator Buba’s former position as Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence is equally misleading.
Yes, it was a sensitive responsibility.
Yes, national security deserves the highest standards.
But neither fact establishes that Senator Buba had any criminal relationship with anyone.
The commentary asks whether intelligence could have been compromised, whether security operations could have been affected and whether criminal elements could have gained access.
These are dramatic questions.
But where is the evidence that any of these things actually happened?
One cannot manufacture a criminal narrative by asking increasingly alarming hypothetical questions.
“Could it have happened?” is not the same as “It happened.”
That distinction matters.
THIS IS POLITICAL BLACKMAIL, NOT NATIONAL-SECURITY ANALYSIS
What is particularly revealing is the political environment in which these allegations are being revived.
Senator Shehu Buba Umar is a prominent political figure in Bauchi State and has openly declared his political ambition ahead of the 2027 elections.
It would therefore be naïve to ignore the political implications of repeatedly circulating grave allegations against him without presenting conclusive evidence.
Political opponents are entitled to challenge Senator Buba’s ideas, policies and ambitions.
They are entitled to campaign against him.
They are entitled to disagree with him.
But political competition does not confer a licence to criminalise an opponent through insinuation.
The people of Bauchi are intelligent enough to distinguish between genuine security concerns and politically convenient narratives.
IF THERE IS EVIDENCE, PRODUCE IT
Our position is unequivocal.
If Barrister Dalung or anyone else possesses credible evidence linking Senator Shehu Buba Umar to banditry, kidnapping, terrorism or any other criminal activity, they should stop conducting the trial in newspaper columns and social-media commentaries.
Take the evidence to the DSS. Take it to the police. Take it to the appropriate prosecuting authority. Take it to court.
Let the law take its course.
But if no such evidence exists, then Nigerians deserve to know why these allegations continue to be recycled whenever Senator Buba’s political profile rises.
The Nigerian public should not be subjected to a permanent cycle in which an allegation is made, denied, investigated or left unresolved, and then resurrected years later as though repetition itself has converted it into fact.
It has not.
SENATOR BUBA WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED
Senator Shehu Buba Umar remains unperturbed by these tactics.
He has denied the allegations and remains prepared to answer legitimate questions before competent institutions.
But he will not accept a political strategy in which allegations are deliberately amplified, facts are selectively presented, and Nigerians are encouraged to reach a predetermined conclusion without evidence.
Senator Buba will not be intimidated. He will not be distracted. And he will not allow political blackmail to define his public record.
His political opponents should meet him at the ballot box, not manufacture guilt in newspaper columns.
BAUCHI DESERVES ISSUES, NOT SMEAR CAMPAIGNS
The people of Bauchi State are confronted by real challenges—security, unemployment, poverty, infrastructure, education, healthcare and economic hardship.
These are the issues that should dominate political discourse.
Instead of repeatedly recycling allegations that have not resulted in any established criminal finding against Senator Buba, those seeking to oppose his political ambition should tell Bauchi people what they intend to offer differently.
Politics should be a contest of ideas, competence and credibility—not a competition in character assassination.
OUR FINAL POSITION
We have no objection to investigation.
Indeed, we welcome it.
We have no objection to accountability.
Indeed, nobody should be above the law.
But accountability must operate on evidence, not insinuation.
Senator Shehu Buba Umar should not be presumed guilty because an allegation has been made against him. Neither should his political opponents be allowed to convert unresolved claims into established facts through repetition.
If there is evidence, produce it.
If there is an investigation, publish the lawful outcome.
If there is a case, prosecute it.
If there is no evidence, stop the smear campaign.
That is the standard.
And that is why Senator Shehu Buba Umar will continue to face his political opponents confidently, transparently and without intimidation.
Political blackmail will not stop his political ambition.
The people—not manufactured allegations—will decide his political future.
By Bashir Umar Kirfi(Comr. B U Kirfi) Media Aide to Senator Shehu Buba Umar | Political Affairs Commentator | News Fact-Checker
