Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has demanded N10 billion in compensation and a public apology from the Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), over comments the minister made about him during a television appearance.
The demand is contained in a letter before action dated Monday, September 7, addressed to Musa by El-Rufai’s lawyers, Chambers of Ubong Akpan, and sent to the Federal Ministry of Defence in Abuja.
The letter followed Musa’s appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on September 3, where he spoke on insecurity in Kaduna State and made allegations against the former governor.
Among the remarks credited to Musa was a statement that no one could be happy with someone accused of deliberately plotting the killing of the people. He also claimed El-Rufai admitted to paying bandits and alleged that anyone who crossed the former governor risked having their house bulldozed.
El-Rufai’s lawyers described the statements as false and defamatory, saying they painted their client as a criminal, a murderer, a sponsor of banditry, and someone of the “most base and depraved character.”
They put the compensation figure at N10 billion, describing it as recompense for the damage done to El-Rufai’s reputation and the distress it caused, though they clarified this was a settlement demand and not a court-awarded sum.
Beyond the money, the lawyers want a clear, prominent and unconditional retraction and apology aired on Politics Today, matching the prominence of the original broadcast, along with published apologies in two national newspapers — one based in the North and another in the South.
Responding point by point, the lawyers said El-Rufai had never been linked to any offence involving the planning of killings, and that no evidence had been presented to back the claim. They also denied that he ever paid bandits, insisting his administration consistently refused to negotiate with or fund armed groups. On the demolitions carried out during his tenure, they maintained these were lawful actions taken in the public interest, and rejected suggestions that his government pursued policies that divided Kaduna along ethnic or religious lines.
The lawyers noted that none of Musa’s allegations had been tested or proven in any court, and pointed out that as a sitting minister and former army general, his words carry particular weight with the public — which they say makes the alleged defamation more damaging.
They further demanded that Musa preserve all recordings, transcripts, notes and source materials connected to his television appearance, and disclose the sources behind his claims. He has been given seven days from receipt of the letter to comply, or face possible legal action seeking damages, injunctions, disclosure orders and costs.
Meanwhile, religious leaders in Southern Kaduna have called for calm. At a joint peace meeting in Kafanchan, Muslim and Christian leaders under the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) urged Nigerians not to let the row inflame ethnic or religious tensions. The Chairman of the Council of Imams in Southern Kaduna described Musa as a respected military figure who should not be viewed through a political lens, and appealed for restraint, particularly on social media.
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