El-Rufai threatens N10bn suit against defence minister for defamation

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has demanded N10bn in compensation from the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (retd.), over alleged defamatory statements made during a Channels Television programme.

The demand was contained in a letter before action dated Monday, September 7, 2026, issued by El-Rufai’s lawyers, the Chambers of Ubong Akpan, and addressed to Musa at the Federal Ministry of Defence in Abuja.

The letter was posted on Facebook by a member of the House of Representatives and one of the sons of the former Kaduna State governor, Bello El-Rufai.

The legal action followed Musa’s appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on September 3, 2026, where he spoke about insecurity in Kaduna State and made several allegations concerning the former governor.

Musa was quoted in the letter as saying, “We can never be happy with somebody who has deliberately planned for the killing of our people.” He also allegedly said of El-Rufai, “He told us he paid bandits,” and claimed, “The next thing he sends a bulldozer to bulldoze your house down. He’s done it.”

El-Rufai’s lawyers described the statements as false and defamatory, arguing that their natural and ordinary meaning portrayed their client as someone who deliberately planned killings, paid bandits, victimised opponents through demolitions and divided Kaduna State along ethnic and religious lines.

The lawyers said the statements, taken together, conveyed that El-Rufai was “a criminal, a murderer, a sponsor of banditry, and a person of the most base and depraved character.”

They demanded that Musa retract the statements and apologise publicly, while also seeking N10bn compensation for what they described as the injury to El-Rufai’s reputation.

According to the lawyers, their client had “never been involved in any offence relating to the deliberate planning of killings in Southern Kaduna,” adding that “no evidence has ever been produced to establish that our Client ‘deliberately planned’ the killing of any person.”

On the allegation that El-Rufai paid bandits, the lawyers said he had consistently maintained that he would neither negotiate with nor pay bandits.

They also rejected Musa’s allegation concerning demolitions, stating that any demolitions carried out during El-Rufai’s tenure as governor were conducted “in accordance with the law and for public purposes.”

The lawyers further denied that El-Rufai’s administration divided Kaduna State along ethnic or religious lines, saying his government implemented policies aimed at “promoting unity and development across all parts of the State.”

They 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.

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The letter accused Musa of publishing the allegations from a position of authority as the Defence Minister and a retired Nigerian Army general.

It stated, “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.”

El-Rufai’s lawyers also accused Musa of failing to adequately verify the allegations before making them during the televised interview. They demanded a “prominent, unconditional and unambiguous retraction, correction and apology” on Politics Today, with the same or greater prominence as the original statements.

The lawyers further demanded that the apology be published in two nationally circulating newspapers, one principally circulating in Northern Nigeria and another principally circulating in Southern Nigeria.

They also demanded the preservation of all recordings, transcripts, notes, drafts, communications and source materials relating to Musa’s appearance on the programme.

The lawyers requested full disclosure of every source, document and report relied upon by the minister in making the allegations, including communications with Channels Television and data on the programme’s reach, views, shares and engagement.

The letter also demanded a signed undertaking from Musa not to repeat, republish or cause the republication of the allegedly defamatory statements or allegations of substantially similar effect.

On the monetary demand, the lawyers stated, “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.”

They clarified that the N10bn was being demanded as a settlement and compensation and did not represent damages already awarded or agreed upon.

The lawyers gave Musa seven calendar days from the effective date of receipt of the letter to comply with the demands.

They also required the minister to acknowledge receipt of the letter in writing within 24 hours and submit a substantive response to each of the demands by 4 pm on the seventh calendar day after effective receipt.

The letter warned that silence or failure to respond substantively within the stipulated period could be relied upon by El-Rufai, “so far as the law permits,” in relation to mitigation, aggravated damages and whether there was a genuine belief in the truth of the statements complained of.

The lawyers further warned that failure to reach a satisfactory resolution could result in court proceedings seeking declaratory relief, damages, injunctions restraining further publication, preservation and disclosure orders, interest and legal costs.