He is a graduate of the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where he studied law.
As a lawyer, businessman and politician, Abubakar was a onetime legal adviser to the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) during the Nigerian Second Republic.
He contested as running mate to Bagudu Hirse for the seat of governor and deputy governor of Plateau State, where they lost and subsequently Haruna was appointed as the Managing Director of Pipelines and Petroleum Products Marketing Company during the military regime of General Sani Abacha.
[1] At the start of the Nigerian Fourth Republic, running on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform, he was elected Senator for the Nasarawa South constituency of Nasarawa State, Nigeria.
[1] In 2003, after leaving the senate, Haruna contested for the seat of governor of Nasarawa State under the NDP against the incumbent Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, he lost the highly contested election, and went ahead to election tribunal.