Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, has made a fresh and serious allegation against former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, accusing his administration of deliberately planning killings in Southern Kaduna.
Musa made the claim during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he also criticised what he described as the divisive nature of El-Rufai’s eight-year administration in Kaduna State.
According to the minister, tensions during El-Rufai’s tenure became so severe that residents from Southern Kaduna allegedly faced difficulties living in northern parts of the state, while some people from the northern part moved towards the south.
“We know how it was when El-Rufai was there; it was toxic,” Musa said.
He further claimed that the former governor’s administration contributed to the deep grievances still felt by residents of Southern Kaduna over the killings recorded in the region.
“I think if there’s anything worse than unhappy, we can never be happy with somebody who has deliberately planned for the killing of our people,” Musa said.
Musa also referred to previous public statements attributed to El-Rufai concerning security measures during his administration. He alleged that the former governor had openly acknowledged paying bandits.
“He told us he paid bandits. He told us he did this, he did that. He didn’t hide it,” the minister alleged.
The Defence Minister said the people of Southern Kaduna remained deeply affected by the violence, although he argued that the security and political situation had improved under the administration of Governor Uba Sani.
Musa also called for political leaders who would promote unity rather than exploit ethnic and religious differences.
The allegations are significant because violence in Southern Kaduna has remained one of the region’s longstanding security and political controversies. However, Musa did not provide specific evidence during the interview to substantiate his claim that El-Rufai deliberately planned the killings. El-Rufai’s family and media team had not publicly responded to the latest allegations in reports reviewed.
El-Rufai governed Kaduna State from 2015 to 2023 before leaving office after completing two terms.
