Lawyers representing former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, have demanded ₦10 billion in damages from Defence Minister, General Christopher Musa (retd.), over alleged defamatory statements made against their client.
The demand was contained in a letter before action dated September 7, 2026, and addressed to Musa at the Federal Ministry of Defence in Abuja. 
The legal threat followed the minister’s appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on September 3, where he discussed insecurity in Kaduna State and made allegations involving the former governor.
According to El-Rufai’s lawyers, Musa accused the former governor of deliberately planning the killing of people in Southern Kaduna and paying bandits.
The lawyers further alleged that the minister claimed El-Rufai ordered the demolition of houses as a means of victimising political opponents.
El-Rufai’s legal team, Akpan Ubong Chambers, rejected the allegations as false, describing them as defamatory and damaging to their client’s reputation.
They argued that the statements portrayed the former governor as a murderer, criminal and sponsor of banditry.
The lawyers demanded that Musa publicly retract the allegations, apologise to El-Rufai and pay ₦10 billion in damages.
They also specifically denied the allegation that El-Rufai paid bandits, insisting that the former governor had consistently maintained that he would neither negotiate with nor financially support bandits.
On the controversial demolitions carried out during El-Rufai’s tenure, the lawyers said the exercises were conducted in accordance with the law and in pursuit of legitimate public purposes.
They also rejected claims that the former governor’s administration deliberately divided Kaduna State along ethnic or religious lines, insisting that his government pursued policies aimed at promoting unity and development.
The legal team maintained that the allegations against El-Rufai had not been established before any court of competent jurisdiction and challenged Musa to provide evidence to substantiate them.
Family Issues Separate Seven-Day Ultimatum
The latest legal demand comes amid a separate challenge issued by El-Rufai’s family over the same allegation.
In a statement issued Monday and signed by Honourable Mohammed Bello El-Rufai on behalf of the family, the claim that the former governor planned killings in Southern Kaduna was described as “grave” and unsupported by evidence.
The family acknowledged Musa’s right to express his views but insisted that such a serious allegation must be backed by credible evidence.
It gave the minister seven days to either produce evidence supporting the allegation or issue a full public retraction and apology through the same medium in which the claim was made.
The family warned that failure to comply would leave it with no option but to pursue available legal remedies.
The development has now escalated the dispute between the former governor’s camp and the Defence Minister, with El-Rufai’s lawyers seeking financial damages while his family separately presses for evidence, retraction and an apology.
