Man Accuses Northern Senator of Banditry Ties, Lawmaker Denies Allegation

Controversy over alleged links between influential Nigerians and armed groups in the North has intensified following claims by a man identified as Hassan, who says his childhood friendship with notorious bandit leader Dogo Gide gave him unusual access to people within the criminal network.

Hassan’s allegations against a Northern senator have gained widespread attention on social media, but the lawmaker has rejected the claims and challenged him to present any evidence to security agencies.

Hassan said his relationship with Gide had nothing to do with criminal activities, explaining that the two grew up in the same community and were childhood friends before their lives took different paths.

“I know Dogo Gide very well because we grew up in the same community and were childhood friends,” Hassan said in an interview that has circulated widely online.

He said he later moved to Rivers State, where he was raised and formally educated, while Gide remained in their community and eventually became involved in banditry.

According to Hassan, their childhood connection became relevant years later when he encountered Gide again while working at the residence of the senator.

Hassan claimed his education enabled him to observe activities around the residence that he considered suspicious. He alleged that he subsequently began secretly recording and preserving information which he believed could expose people linked to criminal activities.

He further claimed that his familiarity with Gide and other alleged bandits was partly because he had known some of them before they became involved in crime.

Hassan alleged that Gide had limited formal education and struggled to operate a mobile phone, which he said enabled him to obtain recordings that he stored on a memory card.

He also claimed that his activities were eventually discovered at the senator’s residence, leading to an alleged plot to kill him.

Hassan said Gide, despite having gone down a different path, secretly warned him about the alleged plan, allowing him to escape.

He claimed he subsequently fled Nigeria with materials he believed contained evidence of activities he had witnessed, although some of the materials were allegedly lost during his escape.

Senator denies allegations

The senator has strongly denied the allegations and offered a different account of his relationship with Hassan.

Speaking to a radio station, the lawmaker said Hassan was introduced to his foundation as an orphan seeking educational assistance.

He said he supported Hassan’s education and helped him pursue both conventional and Islamic studies.

The senator said he later became concerned when Hassan abandoned his education and decided to go into car dealing.

He also alleged that Hassan secretly photographed and recorded people visiting his residence, behaviour he said contributed to the eventual breakdown of their relationship.

The lawmaker denied having any connection to banditry or Dogo Gide and challenged Hassan to submit whatever evidence he claimed to possess to the appropriate security agencies.

He said complaints had already been lodged with security authorities over the allegations and that investigations had led to arrests, with the matter now before the court.

The latest controversy followed Hassan’s identification of the senator as the politician he had previously accused without naming.

In the widely circulated interview, Hassan also alleged that people linked to Dogo Gide were brought to Abuja and suggested that individuals around the senator were connected to the development.

Those claims have not been independently verified.

Who is Dogo Gide?

Dogo Gide, also known as Mallam Dogo Gide, has for years featured prominently in reports about armed banditry in north-western Nigeria.

Vanguard reported in May 2021 that he was among the leaders of bandit groups operating in parts of Niger and Kaduna states.

In October 2023, the Nigeria Police Force said a suspect arrested over the abduction of students of Federal Government College, Yauri, confessed to taking part in the operation alongside Kachala Dogo Gide, whom the police described as a gang leader who commanded about 100 men during the raid.

The latest allegations have renewed questions about how longstanding social relationships within communities could potentially overlap with criminal networks.

However, the allegations against the senator remain unproven in court.

For now, the dispute centres on two sharply contrasting accounts: Hassan maintains that his childhood friendship with Dogo Gide and his subsequent experiences gave him insight into an alleged network involving influential figures, while the senator says Hassan was a beneficiary of his educational support who later turned against him.

The lawmaker has maintained that the allegations are aimed at damaging his reputation and political career, insisting that any evidence should be submitted to security agencies for proper investigation.