‘El-Rufai did a lot of terrible things in Kaduna’ — Defence Minister

The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), has accused former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, of actions that allegedly deepened divisions and contributed to insecurity in the state during his tenure.

Musa made the allegations on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

He described the situation in Kaduna during El-Rufai’s administration as “toxic,” alleging that the former governor divided the state to the extent that residents from Southern Kaduna could not freely move to the northern part and vice versa.

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

The minister also alleged that residents of Southern Kaduna remained unhappy with El-Rufai over killings recorded in the area during his administration.

When asked whether Southern Kaduna residents were still unhappy with the former governor, Musa said, “If there is anything worse than unhappy. We can never be happy with somebody who has deliberately planned for the killing of our people.”

Musa further alleged that El-Rufai had admitted to paying bandits and accused him of using his position against individuals with whom he had disagreements.

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

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

Musa, however, said he did not consider El-Rufai an enemy, describing him instead as “misguided.”

The Defence Minister said his comments were not motivated by his being from Kaduna but by his concern for the unity and security of Nigeria.

He urged politicians to stop exploiting religious and ethnic differences and instead promote unity among Nigerians.

El-Rufai, who governed Kaduna State from 2015 to 2023, has yet to publicly respond to the allegations