Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has demanded ₦10 billion in compensation and a public apology from Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (retired), over allegations that he deliberately planned killings in Southern Kaduna during his time as governor, giving the minister a seven-day ultimatum to substantiate or retract the claims.
The demand was contained in an eight-page pre-action letter dated Monday, September 7, 2026, issued by El-Rufai’s lawyers, the Chambers of Ubong Akpan, and addressed to Musa at the Federal Ministry of Defence in Abuja. A copy of the letter, released alongside a separate statement from the El-Rufai family, carries an acknowledgement stamp from the Ministry of Defence dated the same day. The family’s public statement was issued by El-Rufai’s son, Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, a member of the House of Representatives.
The dispute traces back to Musa’s appearance on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” programme on September 3, 2026, during which he discussed insecurity and political dynamics in Kaduna State. When presenter Seun Okinbaloye asked whether residents of Southern Kaduna remained unhappy with El-Rufai, Musa responded that people could never be at peace with someone who had deliberately planned the killing of their own people. According to the lawyers’ letter, Musa further alleged that El-Rufai had told people he paid bandits, and described the former governor’s approach to perceived opponents as one in which he would respond by sending a bulldozer to demolish their homes. Musa also reportedly accused El-Rufai of dividing Kaduna State along regional lines, describing the atmosphere during his tenure as toxic, though he did not cite any specific report, order, or incident directly tying El-Rufai to the planning of killings.
El-Rufai’s legal team described the statements as false and defamatory, arguing that they portrayed the former governor as a criminal, murderer, and sponsor of banditry, and as a person of the most base and depraved character. The lawyers insisted that El-Rufai had never been involved in any offence relating to the deliberate planning of killings in Southern Kaduna, stating that no evidence had ever been produced to support such a claim. They also firmly rejected the allegation that El-Rufai paid bandits, maintaining that the former governor had consistently insisted he would neither negotiate with nor make payments to armed groups during his time in office.
Beyond the ₦10 billion demand, which the lawyers explicitly clarified was proposed as a settlement figure and not damages awarded or agreed by any court, the pre-action letter set out a series of specific demands. These include a public retraction and apology from Musa to be delivered on the same “Politics Today” programme with equal prominence to the original broadcast, publication of the retraction in two national newspapers, preservation of all recordings and notes connected to the interview, and full disclosure of whatever evidence, if any, the minister relied upon in making the allegations. The lawyers warned that failure to provide a satisfactory response within the seven-day window would result in formal defamation proceedings, including claims for damages and injunctions.
In a separate statement, the El-Rufai family described the allegation as grave and unsubstantiated, acknowledging Musa’s right to express personal opinions while insisting that such a serious claim must be backed by credible evidence or formally withdrawn. The dispute adds to a growing pattern of high-profile defamation disputes among Nigeria’s political class in recent months, and comes as El-Rufai remains embroiled in a separate ongoing legal battle with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over unrelated allegations of money laundering and misuse of public property.
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