El-Rufai threatens N10bn suit against defence minister for defamation
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- Former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai has demanded N10 billion from Defence Minister Christopher Musa over alleged defamatory remarks made during a television programme.
- El-Rufai’s lawyers said Musa’s comments portrayed their client as someone who planned killings, paid bandits and unlawfully demolished property.
- The lawyers demanded a public retraction, an apology and compensation, while stressing that the allegations had not been tested or proved in court.
Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has threatened a N10 billion defamation suit against Defence Minister Christopher Musa over remarks Musa made on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
El-Rufai’s lawyers sent Musa a letter before action dated Monday, September 7, 2026. The letter, issued by the Chambers of Ubong Akpan and addressed to Musa at the Federal Ministry of Defence in Abuja, was posted on Facebook by Bello El-Rufai, a member of the House of Representatives and one of the former governor’s sons.
We can never be happy with somebody who has deliberately planned for the killing of our people.
The legal action followed Musa’s appearance on the programme on September 3, when he discussed insecurity in Kaduna State and made allegations concerning El-Rufai. The letter quoted Musa as saying, “We can never be happy with somebody who has deliberately planned for the killing of our people.” It also attributed to him the statements, “He told us he paid bandits,” and, “The next thing he sends a bulldozer to bulldoze your house down. He’s done it.”
He told us he paid bandits.
El-Rufai’s lawyers called the remarks false and defamatory. They argued that, taken together, the statements portrayed their client as “a criminal, a murderer, a sponsor of banditry, and a person of the most base and depraved character.” They demanded that Musa withdraw the remarks and apologise publicly, in addition to paying N10 billion for the damage allegedly done to El-Rufai’s reputation.
The lawyers denied that El-Rufai had planned killings or paid bandits, saying he had consistently maintained that he would neither negotiate with nor pay them. They said demolitions during his tenure were conducted “in accordance with the law and for public purposes” and rejected claims that his administration divided Kaduna along ethnic or religious lines. They also stressed that “none of the allegations made by you has been tested, proved or determined by any court of competent jurisdiction,” and demanded strict proof of each allegation.
None of the allegations made by you has been tested, proved or determined by any court of competent jurisdiction.
About this summary
Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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