Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, demanded N10 billion in compensation and a public apology from General Christopher Musa, the Minister of Defence. El-Rufai’s lawyers issued the demand in a letter dated September 7, 2026.
The letter followed remarks Musa made on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on September 3, 2026. According to the letter, Musa stated that El-Rufai “deliberately planned for the killing of our people.” Musa also said of El-Rufai, “He told us he paid bandits,” and added that the former governor sent bulldozers to demolish houses of critics.
Ubong Akpan, El-Rufai’s lawyer, signed the letter addressed to the Federal Ministry of Defence. The lawyers stated that the remarks portrayed El-Rufai as “a criminal, a murderer, a sponsor of banditry, and a person of the most base and depraved character.”
They demanded a “prominent, unconditional and unambiguous retraction, correction and apology” on Politics Today with equal or greater prominence. Additionally, they required the apology to appear in two nationally circulating newspapers, one in Northern Nigeria and one in Southern Nigeria.
On the compensation, the lawyers wrote: “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.” They clarified that the sum represented a proposed settlement and not court-awarded damages.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, the eldest son of the former governor, issued a separate family statement. The family noted serious concern over the allegation that El-Rufai actively planned killings in Southern Kaduna while in office.
The family gave Musa seven days either to provide evidence supporting the claim or to issue a full public retraction and apology through the same medium. Failure to comply, the statement said, would leave the family with no option but to pursue all appropriate legal remedies.
The lawyers similarly gave Musa seven days from receipt of the letter to meet the demands or face legal action. The Ministry of Defence acknowledged receipt of the letter on September 7, 2026.
