The family of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has given the Minister of Defence, retired Gen. Christopher Musa, seven days to substantiate his allegation that the former governor deliberately planned the killing of people in Southern Kaduna or publicly retract the statement and apologise.
The family issued the ultimatum in response to comments made by Musa during a Sept. 3 appearance on Channels Television’s “Politics Today”.
Musa had accused El-Rufai of implementing policies that deepened divisions and worsened insecurity in Kaduna State during his tenure from 2015 to 2023.
He described the situation in the state under El-Rufai as “toxic”, alleging that the former governor had divided the state to the extent that people from Southern Kaduna could not freely live in northern parts of the state and vice versa.
Asked whether people in Southern Kaduna remained unhappy with El-Rufai, Musa said the word “unhappy” did not adequately describe their feelings.
“We can never be happy with somebody who deliberately planned for the killing of our people,” he said.
In a statement issued on Monday and signed by Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, the former governor’s eldest son, the family described the allegation as grave and said it was 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.
“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 said it was not challenging Musa’s right to express his opinion but maintained that an allegation that a former governor deliberately planned killings required credible evidence.
“This grave allegation was made without the presentation of any evidence in support of the claim.
“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,” it said.
The family warned that failure by the minister to comply with the demand within seven days would result in 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 stated.
The development has further escalated the politically sensitive debate over responsibility for insecurity and communal violence in Kaduna during El-Rufai’s eight-year administration.
Southern Kaduna had experienced recurring communal and intercommunal violence before El-Rufai assumed office in May 2015, with attacks, killings, abductions and other crimes continuing during his tenure.
An investigation by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) documented a series of deadly attacks in Southern Kaduna, reporting that 136 residents were killed between June 10 and Aug. 21, 2020.
Data-based assessments also showed that more than 3,600 people were killed in armed violence in Kaduna between 2015 and 2022.
El-Rufai’s administration repeatedly acknowledged the security challenges, including terrorism, banditry, killings and kidnappings, while maintaining that the state government had introduced institutional measures to address the crisis.
The administration also repeatedly called for sustained military operations by the Federal Government against armed groups operating in the state.
In December 2016, El-Rufai said security reports indicated that some armed Fulani herders involved in attacks had entered Nigeria from neighbouring West African countries, including Niger, Cameroon, Chad, Mali and Senegal.
His administration subsequently published annual security reports detailing killings, kidnappings and other crimes recorded across Kaduna State.
The former governor is currently in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over allegations including money laundering.
