By Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai is demanding ₦10 billion in compensation from Minister of Defence General Christopher Musa (retd.) over statements made during a Channels Television appearance that El-Rufai’s legal team says defamed him. The demand is laid out in a letter before action dated Monday, September 7, 2026, sent by the Chambers of Ubong Akpan on El-Rufai’s behalf and addressed to Musa at the Federal Ministry of Defence in Abuja. The letter surfaced publicly after it was posted on Facebook by Bello El-Rufai, a member of the House of Representatives and one of the former governor’s sons.
What Musa allegedly said
The dispute traces back to Musa’s appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on September 3, 2026, where he discussed insecurity in Kaduna State and made several claims about El-Rufai. According to the letter, Musa said, “We can never be happy with somebody who has deliberately planned for the killing of our people.” He was also quoted alleging, “He told us he paid bandits,” and further claiming, “The next thing he sends a bulldozer to bulldoze your house down. He’s done it.”
El-Rufai’s lawyers argued that, taken together, the statements portrayed their client as someone who deliberately planned killings, paid bandits, used demolitions to target opponents, and deepened ethnic and religious division in Kaduna State. They characterised the cumulative effect of the remarks as painting El-Rufai as “a criminal, a murderer, a sponsor of banditry, and a person of the most base and depraved character.”
El-Rufai’s response to each allegation
The legal team pushed back point by point. On the claim that El-Rufai planned killings, they said he had “never been involved in any offence relating to the deliberate planning of killings in Southern Kaduna,” and that no evidence had ever been produced to support that he “deliberately planned” anyone’s death. On the bandit payment allegation, they said El-Rufai had consistently maintained a position of neither negotiating with nor paying bandits. Regarding the demolitions, the lawyers said any such actions carried out during his tenure as governor were done “in accordance with the law and for public purposes.” They also rejected the claim that his administration divided the state along ethnic or religious lines, arguing his government instead pursued policies aimed at “promoting unity and development across all parts of the State.” The letter stressed that none of Musa’s allegations had been “tested, proved or determined by any court of competent jurisdiction,” and demanded strict proof of each one.
Why the lawyers say the position of authority matters
El-Rufai’s team argued that Musa’s standing as Defence Minister and a retired Army general gave his statements added weight and, by extension, caused greater reputational harm than the same words from a private citizen would have. “Your statements carry particular weight and credibility in the eyes of the public. By making these allegations from such a position of authority, you have caused substantially greater damage to our Client’s reputation than would have been caused by a private individual,” the letter stated. The lawyers also accused Musa of failing to adequately verify the claims before making them on live television.
What’s being demanded
The letter sets out a detailed list of remedies. It calls for a “prominent, unconditional and unambiguous retraction, correction and apology” to be aired on Politics Today with prominence matching the original broadcast, along with published apologies in two nationally circulating newspapers, one based in Northern Nigeria and one in Southern Nigeria. It also demands preservation of all recordings, transcripts, notes, drafts and communications tied to the broadcast, full disclosure of every source and document Musa relied on, including any communications with Channels Television, and data on the programme’s reach and engagement. On top of that, the lawyers are seeking a signed undertaking from Musa not to repeat or cause the republication of the statements or anything of similar effect.
On the financial side, the letter is explicit: “Our Client’s instruction is to demand the sum of #10,000,000,000.00 (Ten Billion Naira) as compensation for the injury to his reputation and the distress and inconvenience occasioned.” The lawyers clarified that the figure represents a proposed settlement rather than damages already determined or agreed.
A tight deadline
Musa has been given seven calendar days from receipt of the letter to comply, with a requirement to acknowledge receipt in writing within 24 hours and to submit a substantive response to each demand by 4 pm on the seventh day. The letter warns that silence or an inadequate response within that window could be used against Musa “so far as the law permits,” particularly on questions of mitigation, aggravated damages, and whether he genuinely believed the statements to be true. It further warns that failure to resolve could lead to court proceedings seeking declaratory relief, damages, injunctions against further publication, preservation and disclosure orders, interest, and legal costs.
