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Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has demanded ₦10 billion in compensation and a public apology from Defence Minister, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), over allegations linking him to the planning of killings in Southern Kaduna.
El-Rufai’s demand was contained in a letter before action dated September 7, 2026, issued by his lawyers, Chambers of Ubong Akpan, following statements made by Musa during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on September 3.
Musa was quoted as saying: “We can never be happy with somebody who has deliberately planned for the killing of our people.” He also alleged that El-Rufai paid bandits and ordered the demolition of houses.
The former governor’s lawyers described the allegations as false and defamatory, saying they portrayed their client as “a criminal, a murderer, a sponsor of banditry, and a person of the most base and depraved character.”
The legal team demanded ₦10 billion as compensation for what it described as damage to El-Rufai’s reputation, as well as the distress and inconvenience allegedly caused by the statements.
“Our client’s instruction is to demand the sum of ₦10,000,000,000.00 (Ten Billion Naira) as compensation for the injury to his reputation and the distress and inconvenience occasioned,” the lawyers stated.
They also demanded a “prominent, unconditional and unambiguous retraction, correction and apology” from Musa, to be made on the same television programme where the allegations were aired.
The lawyers further requested that the apology be published in two nationally circulating newspapers, including one with prominent circulation in Northern Nigeria and another in Southern Nigeria.
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On the allegation that El-Rufai deliberately planned killings in Southern Kaduna, his lawyers said he had “never been involved in any offence relating to the deliberate planning of killings in Southern Kaduna.”
They added that “no evidence has ever been produced to establish that our client ‘deliberately planned’ the killing of any person.”
The legal team also rejected the allegation that El-Rufai paid bandits, saying the former governor had consistently maintained that he would neither negotiate with nor pay bandits.
On demolitions carried out under his administration, the lawyers said they were conducted “in accordance with the law and for public purposes.”
They also denied that El-Rufai’s administration deliberately divided Kaduna State along ethnic or religious lines, maintaining that its policies were designed to promote unity and development across the state.
The lawyers stressed that “none of the allegations made by you has been tested, proved or determined by any court of competent jurisdiction,” and demanded that Musa provide evidence to substantiate the claims.
The demand comes amid an escalating dispute between Musa and the former governor’s camp over allegations surrounding insecurity and the handling of violence in Kaduna during El-Rufai’s tenure.
