The family of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has given the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa, seven days to provide evidence supporting his allegation that the former governor deliberately planned the killing of people in Southern Kaduna or publicly retract the statement and apologise.
The ultimatum follows comments made by Musa during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on September 3, 2026, where he criticised El-Rufai’s record as Kaduna governor and accused his administration of deepening divisions and insecurity in the state.
Musa was responding to a question about the feelings of people in Southern Kaduna towards the former governor when he said the word “unhappy” did not adequately describe their sentiment.
“We can never be happy with somebody who deliberately planned for the killing of our people,” Musa said.
The minister subsequently referred to videos and public statements by El-Rufai which he said supported his position, including the former governor’s past comments about dealing with bandits.
Musa also accused the former governor’s administration of dividing Kaduna along regional and other lines, claiming that people from Southern Kaduna could not freely live in parts of northern Kaduna during El-Rufai’s tenure.
The El-Rufai family has now challenged Musa to substantiate the most serious part of his allegation.
In a statement issued on Monday and signed by Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, the former governor’s eldest son, the family said the allegation was grave and had been made without evidence.
“In the absence of such evidence, we call on him to publicly retract the allegation through the same medium on which it was made.”
The family gave Musa seven days from the date of its statement to either provide evidence supporting the claim or issue a full public retraction and apology.
It warned that failure to comply would result in the family pursuing legal remedies.
“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.”
The family said it recognised Musa’s right to express his personal opinions but argued that an allegation that a former governor deliberately planned killings required credible evidence.
The dispute comes against the background of years of communal violence and insecurity in Southern Kaduna, where attacks involving communities and armed groups have resulted in significant loss of lives and displacement.
El-Rufai governed Kaduna State from 2015 to 2023, a period during which the state experienced repeated attacks, kidnappings and communal violence.
His administration frequently addressed the security situation and defended its efforts to combat armed groups, while also calling for federal security intervention in areas affected by violence.
Musa, however, has offered a sharply different assessment of El-Rufai’s record.
During his Channels Television interview, the Defence Minister said the former governor’s administration was “toxic” and alleged that it contributed to ethnic and regional divisions in the state. He also said Governor Uba Sani had taken steps to reunite communities in Kaduna.
The latest dispute has now moved beyond political criticism, with legal action also being threatened.
In a separate development, lawyers representing El-Rufai have demanded ₦10 billion in damages from Musa over what they described as defamatory allegations made during the same television appearance.
The lawyers, in a letter before action dated September 7, demanded a public retraction and apology. They argued that the allegations had not been tested or established by a court of competent jurisdiction.
The legal team also disputed allegations that El-Rufai paid bandits and rejected claims that his administration used demolitions to target political opponents.
The family’s seven-day ultimatum is therefore separate from the reported ₦10 billion demand by El-Rufai’s lawyers, although both actions arise from Musa’s September 3 comments.
Musa’s allegations remain allegations and have not been established as facts by a court. The El-Rufai family and the former governor’s legal representatives have rejected the claims and are demanding that the Defence Minister substantiate them.
As of the latest reports, Musa had not publicly retracted the statement or provided evidence in response to the family’s seven-day demand.
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