The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa has accused former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai of deliberately planning the killing of people in Southern Kaduna during his time in office.
Musa made the allegation on Thursday, while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
He also criticised what he described as the divisive nature of El-Rufai’s administration and said the former governor’s policies created serious divisions between communities in Kaduna State.
The minister said the situation became so tense that residents from Southern Kaduna allegedly found it difficult to live in the northern part of the state.
He added that some residents from northern Kaduna were also moving towards the southern part of the state.
“We know how it was when El-Rufai was there; it was toxic,” Musa said.
“El-Rufai did a lot of terrible things in Kaduna State. He divided the country, the state, into two. In that, if you are from the south, you cannot go to the north to live. Those ones from the north were moving to the south.
“Governor Sani within one year has been able to dissolve all that. You see, now everybody is free, everybody has a say. It’s not 100%. Let me tell you, it’s not 100%, but you can see that he’s making deliberate effort in uniting the state.”
Musa was responding to questions about the lingering feelings of Southern Kaduna residents towards the former governor.
He said the killings recorded in Southern Kaduna during El-Rufai’s eight-year administration had left deep wounds in the region.
According to him, the people could not simply forget what happened during that period.
The minister then made his strongest allegation against the former governor, claiming that the killings were deliberately planned.
“Well, I don’t know if unhappy is an issue. I think if there’s anything worse than unhappy, we can never be happy with somebody who has deliberately planned for the killing of our people,” Musa said.
He further said El-Rufai had previously made public statements about how his administration dealt with bandits.
Musa argued that the former governor did not hide some of the measures taken by his government in dealing with armed groups operating in the state.
“I mean, when you look at it, if you look at his videos, you know, his speeches, he was very proud of what he did.
“He told us he paid bandits. He told us he did this, he did that. He didn’t hide it. He was that arrogant to come out and tell people that this was what he did.”
The Defence Minister said the security situation in Southern Kaduna has since changed, although he admitted that the region and the wider state still have challenges.
He said the level of killings witnessed during the previous administration could not be compared with the situation under the present government.
“The Southern Kaduna people are still very pained. Of course, definitely. I mean, if you look at the number of killings that was done there and what is going on now, you can’t compare at all,” he said.
Musa also praised Governor Uba Sani for what he described as efforts to rebuild relationships among the different communities in Kaduna.
According to him, Sani has worked to reduce the divisions that existed between northern and southern Kaduna communities and create an environment where residents can participate freely in the affairs of the state.
The minister, however, acknowledged that the reconciliation process was not complete.
He said the improvement should not be interpreted as a claim that every problem in Kaduna has been resolved.
Beyond the security crisis, Musa accused El-Rufai of denying opportunities to some residents during his tenure.
He claimed that people from the former governor’s own part of Kaduna were also affected by some of his policies and actions.
“I can tell you what he has done to people living in Kaduna from his own area. He did a lot of things that I’m sure even him is not proud of,” he added.
Musa also referred to allegations of demolitions carried out under the former administration.
He claimed that some people had their properties demolished following disagreements with the former governor.
The minister said such actions were not limited to political opponents or people from Southern Kaduna.
He argued that El-Rufai’s alleged conduct affected different groups across the state.
Musa said his criticism of El-Rufai was not based on ethnic considerations, despite being from Kaduna.
He presented his position as part of a broader call for leaders who would promote unity across Nigeria.
“We should get politicians that want to unite Nigeria. For me, any individual who is using either religion, tribe, creed, or anything to divide the state can never be a friend; can never be somebody we look up to,” Musa said.
“We shouldn’t have those kind of ones in government. Anybody who is using religion or tribe or whatever to divide Nigeria is an enemy of the state.”
El-Rufai and current Governor Uba Sani were previously political allies. Sani served in the Senate before succeeding El-Rufai as governor.
Their relationship later broke down, with both sides trading accusations over the former administration, the state’s finances and governance.
The disagreement has also moved into the courts.
Recall that POLITICS NIGERIA reported in August that El-Rufai suffered a setback after the Kaduna State Chief Judge rejected his request to have Justice Darius Hyet Khobo removed from the corruption case against him.
The Chief Judge said a committee constituted to examine the former governor’s complaints found no basis for transferring the case to another judge.
El-Rufai is facing corruption-related proceedings over alleged financial and administrative infractions during his tenure as governor.
He has pleaded not guilty and has continued to deny wrongdoing.