Defence Minister Musa accuses El-Rufai of deliberately planning Southern Kaduna killings

The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, has accused former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai of deliberately planning the killing of people in Southern Kaduna, making one of the strongest allegations yet against the former governor over the violence and communal tensions that affected parts of the state during his eight-year administration.

Musa made the allegation on Thursday, September 3, 2026, while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he criticised the former governor’s handling of security and governance in Kaduna State.

The Defence Minister described the situation in Kaduna during El-Rufai’s tenure as “toxic”, alleging that the former administration deepened divisions between communities in the northern and southern parts of the state.

Musa claimed the divisions became so severe that residents from Southern Kaduna could not freely live in northern parts of the state, while some residents from northern Kaduna moved towards the southern part of the state.

“We know how it was when El-Rufai was there; it was toxic,” Musa said.

“El-Rufai did a lot of terrible things in Kaduna State. He divided the state into two. If you are from the south, you cannot go to the north to live. Those ones from the north were moving to the south.”

The minister’s comments come against the background of years of deadly violence in Southern Kaduna, where communities have experienced killings, kidnappings, displacement and destruction of property.

Musa said the impact of the violence remains deeply felt among residents of the region, particularly families who lost loved ones during the period.

Responding to questions about whether people in Southern Kaduna remained unhappy with El-Rufai, Musa said the anger went beyond ordinary political disagreement.

“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,” he said.

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The Defence Minister did not, during the interview as reported, provide specific evidence to substantiate his allegation that El-Rufai deliberately planned the killings. The claim therefore remains an allegation made by Musa and has not been established as a fact by a court or independent investigation cited in the reports reviewed. (Nigeria Info, Let’s Talk!)

Musa also alleged that El-Rufai had previously spoken publicly about payments allegedly made to bandits and other measures adopted by his administration to address insecurity.

“He told us he paid bandits. He told us he did this, he did that. He didn’t hide it,” Musa alleged.

The minister said the former governor had discussed such actions in public speeches and videos and suggested that affected communities remained angry over the approach taken by the administration.

Musa further argued that the scale of killings recorded in Southern Kaduna during the previous administration was significantly higher than what is being witnessed in the area under the current government.

“The Southern Kaduna people are still very pained. Of course, definitely. I mean, if you look at the number of killings that was done there and what is going on now, you can’t compare at all,” he said.

The minister also credited incumbent Governor Uba Sani with making efforts to rebuild relationships between communities and reduce the divisions he said existed during El-Rufai’s tenure.

According to Musa, the situation has not been completely resolved, but residents now have greater freedom to move and participate in the affairs of the state.

“Governor Sani within one year has been able to dissolve all that. You see now, everybody is free, everybody has a say. It’s not 100 per cent, let me tell you, it’s not 100 per cent, but you can see that he’s making deliberate effort in uniting the state,” Musa said. (Vanguard News)

Musa also extended his criticism beyond the Southern Kaduna crisis, accusing El-Rufai of policies and actions that he said affected people across different parts of the state.

He alleged that some residents, including people from El-Rufai’s own area, were denied opportunities during the former governor’s administration.

The minister also referred to demolitions carried out during the former governor’s tenure, alleging that some residents lost properties following disagreements with El-Rufai.

“I can tell you people what he has done to people living in Kaduna State from his own area. He had just personal [issues] with friends. The next thing, he sends a bulldozer to bulldoze your house down. He’s done it,” Musa alleged.

He maintained that his criticism was not driven by ethnic considerations, despite his own Kaduna background, but by what he described as a concern for the country and the consequences of divisive politics.

Musa urged Nigerians to reject politicians who exploit religion, ethnicity or regional differences to gain political advantage.

“We should get politicians that want to unite Nigeria,” he said.

“Anybody who is using religion or tribe or whatever to divide Nigeria is an enemy of the state.”

The minister’s comments have revived broader questions about the security crisis in Kaduna State during El-Rufai’s tenure, which lasted from 2015 to 2023.

During those years, Southern Kaduna witnessed repeated attacks involving armed groups and communal violence. Human rights organisations have documented significant loss of life and displacement in the region, while successive governments have faced criticism over their handling of insecurity.

The controversy surrounding El-Rufai’s security policies has also included his administration’s controversial approach to negotiations with bandits and other armed groups.

El-Rufai has previously defended his administration’s handling of insecurity and has frequently argued that his government took steps to protect residents while calling for stronger federal security intervention.

The former governor has also remained politically active after leaving office, while his relationship with his successor, Governor Uba Sani, has deteriorated considerably.

Sani was previously regarded as a political ally of El-Rufai and succeeded him as governor in 2023. Their relationship has since become strained, with both camps engaging in disagreements over governance, the finances of Kaduna State and the legacy of the former administration.

Musa’s latest comments add another dimension to the political dispute because they come from a serving federal minister responsible for Nigeria’s defence apparatus and a former senior military officer.

The allegations are also likely to attract further political reactions, particularly as political activities ahead of the 2027 elections intensify.

For now, however, Musa’s claim that El-Rufai deliberately planned killings in Southern Kaduna remains an allegation. While the violence and deaths suffered by communities in the region are extensively documented, the specific accusation of deliberate planning by the former governor would require further evidence or an authoritative investigation to establish it as fact.

El-Rufai and his media team had not publicly responded to Musa’s latest allegations in the reports reviewed as of Friday morning.

Defence Minister Musa accuses El-Rufai of deliberately planning Southern Kaduna killings