The Nigeria Police Force has arrested popular TikTok content creator, Ishaq Abubakar Major, following a viral video in which he accused Senator Shehu Buba, the lawmaker representing Bauchi South Senatorial District, of having links to bandit groups.
According to reports, Major was apprehended by operatives from the Force Criminal Investigation Department at the Maraba-Nyanya junction in Abuja.
He is currently being held at the FCID headquarters. As of the time this report was filed, the police had not released an official statement regarding his arrest.
Major’s arrest is linked to a series of TikTok videos and posts where he claimed Senator Buba was compromised and unfit for public service due to alleged ties with armed criminal groups.
In one of the viral videos, Major reportedly stated: “This newspaper (SaharaReporters) described Senator Buba as a senator that has a relationship with bandits. What I want people to understand is that Senator Shehu Buba is a senator from Bauchi.
“There is no newspaper that would publish false allegations against him without taking them to court, because he has the money to do so, and he also has ambition of governorship.
“But because he knows the allegations are not false, that is why he has not gone to court. Up until now, he has not spoken about it because he knows that if he speaks, evidence will be brought forward, and it will affect his ambition to become the Governor of Bauchi State.”
Senator Shehu Buba, who currently chairs the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, has recently faced growing public criticism. In August, reports emerged linking him to several controversies, including an alleged peace negotiation with wanted terror leader Bello Turji, as well as accusations of inciting sectarian tensions in Plateau State.
Other allegations include claims that he facilitated the travel of suspected bandits to the Hajj pilgrimage and funded the construction of a multi-million-naira mosque in Jos. The mosque, located near the existing Abu Huraira Juma’at Mosque of the Dariqa Sufi Brotherhood, is reportedly intended for the Izala sect led by Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau. This has raised concerns over potential conflict between the two religious groups.
Christian leaders have also voiced strong opposition, accusing Senator Buba of purchasing and demolishing a church to build the mosque, calling the action provocative and insensitive.
Further criticism was directed at the senator for his involvement in a proposed peace deal with Bello Turji, which was mediated by Kaduna-based cleric Sheikh Musa Asadus-Sunnah. Northern Islamic scholar Sheikh Murtala Asadah condemned the proposal, insisting Turji should be prosecuted for alleged atrocities, including mass killings and kidnappings. He also warned that such efforts might erode political support for President Bola Tinubu in northern Nigeria ahead of the 2027 elections.
Locally, Senator Buba faces backlash from his constituents in Bauchi South, who have accused him of abandoning projects in the region, including an incomplete mosque in Toro, while focusing on more elaborate religious constructions in Jos.
