The family of former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has given the Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, seven days to provide evidence supporting his allegation that the former governor deliberately planned killings in Southern Kaduna or publicly withdraw the claim.
The ultimatum followed comments made by Musa during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on September 3, 2026.
Musa accused El-Rufai, who served as Kaduna State governor from 2015 to 2023, of actions that allegedly deepened divisions and contributed to insecurity in the state during his administration.
Describing the situation in Kaduna under El-Rufai as “toxic,” the Defence Minister claimed that residents of Southern Kaduna remained unhappy with the former governor over killings recorded during his tenure.
Musa further alleged that El-Rufai had divided the state to the extent that residents from Southern Kaduna could no longer freely relocate to northern parts of Kaduna.
Asked whether Southern Kaduna residents were still unhappy with the former governor, Musa said they could not be happy with someone who had “deliberately planned for the killing of our people.”
The minister also accused El-Rufai of ordering the demolition of houses belonging to individuals with whom he allegedly had personal disagreements.
However, El-Rufai’s family has rejected the allegations, describing the claim that the former governor planned killings in Southern Kaduna as a grave accusation made without evidence.
In a statement signed by Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, the former governor’s eldest son, the family said Musa was entitled to his personal opinions but insisted that allegations of such magnitude must be supported by credible evidence.
“This grave allegation was made without the presentation of any evidence in support of the claim,” the statement said.
“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 subsequently demanded that the Defence Minister either provide credible evidence supporting his allegation or publicly retract the claim and apologise through the same medium where the allegation was made.
According to the family, Musa has seven days from the date of its statement to comply with the demand.
It warned that failure to provide evidence, retract the allegation and apologise within the stipulated period would leave the family with no option but to pursue all appropriate legal remedies over what it described as an unsubstantiated allegation.
El-Rufai, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and former Kaduna State governor, is currently in detention over allegations of financial misconduct and a separate case involving the alleged unlawful interception of telephone communications belonging to National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
The former governor, who is also a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has reportedly spent more than 200 days in detention.
