El-Rufai: Family Gives Christopher Musa Seven Days To Prove Killing Claim

The family of former Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has given the Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, seven days to provide evidence backing his allegation that the former governor planned killings in Southern Kaduna or publicly withdraw the claim.

Naija News reports that El-Rufai, who previously served as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and Governor of Kaduna State, is currently in detention following his arrest on allegations of financial misconduct and a separate case involving the alleged unlawful interception of telephone communications of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.

The former Governor and a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has spent over 200 days in detention.

His family issued the latest ultimatum in response to comments made by Musa during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on September 3, 2026.

Musa had accused El-Rufai of taking actions that deepened divisions and contributed to insecurity in Kaduna State during his tenure as governor between 2015 and 2023.

The Defence Minister described the situation in the state under El-Rufai as “toxic”, claiming that residents of Southern Kaduna remained unhappy with the former governor over killings recorded during his administration.

Musa said El-Rufai had divided Kaduna State to the extent that people from the southern part of the state could not go to the northern part to live.

When asked if Southern Kaduna residents were still unhappy with El-Rufai, Musa said they could not be happy with someone who had “deliberately planned for the killing of our people.”

The minister also accused the former governor of ordering the demolition of houses belonging to people with whom he had personal disagreements.

However, El-Rufai’s family rejected the allegations and demanded that Musa produce credible evidence to support his claim.

In a statement signed by Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, the former governor’s eldest son, the family described the allegation that El-Rufai planned killings in Southern Kaduna as a grave claim made without evidence.

The family said Musa was entitled to his personal opinion but insisted that serious allegations of that nature must be backed by credible evidence.

It therefore demanded that the Defence Minister retract the allegation publicly through the same medium where he made it.

The statement read in part, “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.”

The family gave Musa seven days from the date of its statement to either provide evidence supporting the allegation or issue a full public retraction and apology.

It warned that failure to meet the demand would leave the family with no option but to pursue all appropriate legal remedies over what it described as unsubstantiated allegations.