The family of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has threatened legal action against the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (rtd.), over allegations that the former governor deliberately planned the killing of people in Southern Kaduna.
Politics Nigeria reports that the family issued a seven-day ultimatum to Musa to either provide credible evidence to substantiate the allegation or publicly retract it and apologise through the same medium where the claim was made.
Musa had made the claim during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he criticised El-Rufai’s administration between 2015 and 2023, particularly its handling of insecurity and communal tensions in Kaduna State.
The Defence Minister described the situation in the state under El-Rufai as “toxic”, alleging that the former governor’s policies contributed to deep divisions between northern and southern parts of Kaduna.
Musa said, “El-Rufai did a lot of terrible things in Kaduna State. He divided the state into two. In that, if you are from the south, you cannot go to the north to live.”
Asked whether people in Southern Kaduna remained unhappy with the former governor over the killings recorded during his tenure, Musa replied that their feelings went beyond unhappiness.
“If there is anything worse than unhappy. We can never be happy with somebody who has deliberately planned for the killing of our people,” he said.
The minister also accused the former governor of ordering the demolition of houses belonging to individuals with whom he had personal disagreements.
Reacting to the allegations, El-Rufai’s family, through a statement signed by his eldest son, Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, described the claim that the former governor planned killings in Southern Kaduna as “grave” and demanded that Musa substantiate it with evidence.
The family said it was “seriously concerned” by the Defence Minister’s comments during the September 3, 2026 broadcast.
According to the statement, Musa was entitled to his opinion but could not make serious allegations against the former governor without providing credible evidence.
“While General Musa (Rtd.) is entitled to hold and express his personal opinions, the El-Rufai family is equally entitled to demand that such serious allegations be substantiated with credible evidence,” the family said.
It subsequently demanded that the minister either produce evidence supporting the allegation within seven days or issue a full public retraction and apology.
“Accordingly, General Musa (Rtd.) is hereby given seven (7) days from the date of this statement to either provide evidence in support of his allegation or issue a full public retraction and apology,” the family said.
The family warned that failure to comply would trigger legal action.
“Failure to do so will leave the family with no option but to pursue all appropriate legal remedies available under the law in response to these unsubstantiated allegations,” it added.
Politics Nigeria recalls that El-Rufai is currently facing a nine-count amended charge before the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), involving allegations of abuse of office, fraud, irregular award and execution of public contracts, money laundering, conferring undue advantage and unlawful handling of public funds during his tenure as Kaduna governor.
He is also facing a separate five-count amended charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) over allegations relating to the unlawful interception of telephone conversations involving National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
