The newly constructed property, located along Nguru Road, was intended to house what would become the town’s largest pharmacy.
A multi-million-naira building owned by a senior military officer identified as Colonel A. A. Buba is reportedly causing tension among residents of Gashu’a town in Yobe State.
The newly constructed property, located along Nguru Road, was intended to house what would become the town’s largest pharmacy.
However, residents allege that the Army officer failed to install proper drainage to channel rainwater from the building’s roof into designated gutters.
Instead, the runoff reportedly pours directly onto neighbouring rooftops, causing structural damage to their buildings and roofs.
Husaini Mohammed Isah, one of the affected neighbours, said that the Army officer bluntly told them to “go to court” if they felt aggrieved, insisting he would not take any steps to address the problem.
“Our roofs have been perforated; our buildings of more than 30 years have been structurally damaged. We are about to be rendered homeless by the army officer,” Isah said.
“Fresh damage was done to my roof. Each time it rains, we cannot sleep with our two eyes closed,” said another victim who spoke on condition of anonymity. Yobe State Governor’s Security Adviser, Gen. Dahiru Abdulsalam (rtd), to mediate in the matter was unsuccessful, as Colonel Buba allegedly refused to heed his advice.
Colonel Buba, a former Commanding Officer of the 154 Task Force Battalion of the Nigerian Army, previously made headlines in October 2023 when he detained a soldier for exposing the poor feeding conditions of troops in Gamdu.
When contacted for comment, Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Lieutenant Colonel Onyinyechi Anele, said the dispute was a personal matter and not related to the military. She advised the affected residents to pursue the matter through civil channels if they believed they had a case against the senior officer.
“This is a personal matter, and I think the Army has nothing to do with it. It is personal property, and it is not like it was the Army that gave him the money to build it,” she said.
“Let me explain this to you; the army personnel are also bound by both military and civil laws. If the residents feel they have a case against him, I think they should approach the court. They can take that route.”
Colonel Buba’s Controversial Record
In October 2023, a report shows that Colonel Buba, then Commanding Officer of the 154 Task Force Battalion of the Nigerian Army in Northeast Nigeria, ordered the detention of one Corporal Sunday Okediran for allegedly exposing the poor feeding and other welfare challenges faced by soldiers at the frontlines.
Some soldiers of the 154 Task Force Battalion, deployed to combat terrorists in the region, had earlier complained that despite an increase in funds allocated for their feeding allowances, they were being served poorly prepared meals.
One soldier said that under Buba’s command in Ngamdu, troops were given only bread and tea for breakfast on Mondays and Thursdays, rice for dinners, white rice with stew on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and “concussion rice” for the remaining weekdays.
The soldiers also shared photographs showing the substandard meals served at their base and lamented the non-payment of their allowances.
Following these revelations, the then-Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, through the then-Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, ordered an immediate investigation into the soldiers’ claims, stressing that troop welfare was a top priority under his leadership. Nevertheless, it was learnt that Buba went ahead to order Corporal Okediran’s detention.
