El-Rufai: Middle Belt Forum backs defence minister and demands probe into alleged bandit payments

The Middle Belt Forum has thrown its support behind Defence Minister Christopher Gwabin Musa and demanded an independent investigation into allegations that bandits received payments during Nasir El-Rufai’s tenure as governor of Kaduna State.

At a press conference on Tuesday, the forum said its intervention followed Musa’s appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Sept. 3, 2026. During the programme, Musa said, “We can never be happy with somebody who has deliberately planned for the killing of our people,” in an apparent reference to El-Rufai. Musa also reportedly referred to allegations that the former governor had acknowledged making payments to bandits, a claim that has prompted controversy and denials.

The forum said it was not merely repeating the minister’s allegations. It said it wanted attention focused on what it described as the record of insecurity and official responses in Kaduna under the former administration. According to the MBF, Southern Kaduna, which it considers part of the Middle Belt, suffered repeated attacks on rural communities, killings, home destruction and displacement.

The group acknowledged that communal and religious violence existed in Kaduna before 2015, but argued that rural attacks became significantly worse during the subsequent administration. It alleged that authorities acted quickly against community leaders and traditional rulers after some violent incidents, while alleged attackers did not face comparable legal action.

The MBF cited the 2016 attack on Goska, the alleged arrest of District Head Moses Barde, and the case of B’Gwam Kurama, Dr Ishaku Sabo Damina, whom it said was arrested after handing a suspected criminal to security authorities. It also referred to the 2021 arrest of 15 Atyap leaders over allegations linked to cattle killings, claiming some later died. The forum questioned casualty figures announced during the 2019 Kajuru crisis and alleged that the subsequent detention of Adara leaders was unlawful, citing a 2024 Federal High Court judgment in Kaduna.

“

We can never be happy with somebody who has deliberately planned for the killing of our people.