The family of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has given Defence Minister General Christopher Musa a seven-day ultimatum to provide evidence backing his allegation that the former governor deliberately planned the killing of people in Southern Kaduna or publicly withdraw the claim and apologise.
The demand followed comments made by Musa during a September 3 appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he accused El-Rufai of implementing policies that deepened divisions and worsened insecurity in Kaduna State during his tenure from 2015 to 2023.
Musa described the situation in Kaduna under El-Rufai as “toxic,” alleging that the former governor divided the state to the extent that residents of 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 capture their feelings.
“We can never be happy with somebody who deliberately planned for the killing of our people,” he said.
Reacting in a statement issued on Monday and signed by El-Rufai’s eldest son, Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, the family described the allegation as a grave claim made without evidence.
The family demanded that Musa either provide evidence to support the allegation or retract it publicly through the same platform where he made the statement.
“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 statement read.
The family said it was not disputing Musa’s right to express his opinion but maintained that an allegation that a former governor deliberately planned killings must be supported by 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 added.
The family warned that failure to comply within seven days would leave it with no option but to seek legal redress.
“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 violence before El-Rufai assumed office in May 2015, with attacks continuing during his tenure. The region witnessed killings, kidnappings and other forms of violent crime, with some incidents escalating in scale.
An ICIR investigation documented a series of deadly attacks in Southern Kaduna, reporting that 136 residents were killed in attacks on communities between June 10 and August 21, 2020. Data-based assessments also indicate that more than 3,600 people were killed in armed violence across Kaduna State between 2015 and 2022.
El-Rufai’s administration repeatedly acknowledged the severity of the security situation, citing terrorism, banditry, killings and kidnappings. The administration maintained that it had introduced institutional measures to address the crisis while repeatedly calling on the Federal Government to sustain military operations against armed groups.
In December 2016, El-Rufai, then governor, 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 documenting killings, kidnappings and other crimes across the state.
El-Rufai is currently in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Crimes Commission (ICPC) over alleged money laundering and other offences.
