The family of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa, demanding that he substantiate allegations that the former governor deliberately planned killings in Southern Kaduna or publicly retract his statements and apologize.
The ultimatum follows 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 heightened insecurity in Kaduna State between 2015 and 2023.
Musa described the situation in Kaduna under El-Rufai as toxic and alleged that the former governor had divided the state to such an 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 public statement issued on Monday and signed by the former governor’s eldest son, Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, the family described Musa’s allegation as grave and noted that it 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. 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 stated that while it was not challenging Musa’s right to express his opinion, 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 added.
The family gave Musa seven days from the date of its statement to comply, warning that failure to do so would leave it with no option but to pursue 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,” it stated.
The demand represents an escalation of an already politically sensitive dispute over responsibility for the insecurity and communal violence that affected Kaduna during El-Rufai’s eight-year tenure. Southern Kaduna had experienced recurring communal and intercommunal violence before El-Rufai became governor in May 2015, which persisted and in some areas intensified during his tenure, witnessing large-scale killings, abductions for ransom, and other crimes.
An ICIR investigation documented a series of deadly attacks in Southern Kaduna, showing that between June 10 and August 21, 2020, 136 residents were killed in attacks on communities in the area, while data-based assessments show that more than 3,600 people were killed in armed violence in Kaduna between 2015 and 2022.
El-Rufai’s administration repeatedly acknowledged the severity of the crisis, acknowledging continuing terrorism, banditry, killings, and kidnappings, while arguing that the state government had taken institutional measures and repeatedly pressed the Federal Government for sustained military operations against armed groups.
In December 2016, while serving as governor, he 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 across the state. Africans& Diaspora
The former governor is currently in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Crimes Commission (ICPC) over money laundering and other charges.