04/09/2026
PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DELIBERATE FABRICATIONS, FAILED BLACKMAIL, AND HISTORICAL REVISIONISM: EL-RUFAI YOUTH MOVEMENT GIVES DEFENCE MINISTER CHRISTOPHER MUSA A 72-HOUR ULTIMATUM TO RETRACT OUTRAGEOUS ALLEGATIONS
The El-Rufai Youth Movement unequivocally condemns the reckless, malicious, and entirely baseless allegations made by the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (rtd), during his recent national television appearance. In an absurd bid to malign the character, stewardship, and enduring legacy of the former Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai (who served meritoriously from 2015 to 2023), Mr. Musa alleged that El-Rufai "deliberately planned the killing of people in Southern Kaduna." It is patently obvious that Musa’s defamatory claims are made in active alignment with Governor Uba Sani’s media machinery—a coordinated, desperate effort to scapegoat El-Rufai and deflect public attention away from the glaring failures and gross incompetence of the current state administration.
A Failed Blackmail That Has Backfired
Musa’s interview was clearly orchestrated with a singular objective: to blackmail, delegitimize, and smear Malam Nasir El-Rufai. However, that sinister objective has collapsed on arrival. The broadcast has backfired spectacularly on the retired general, reflecting poorly on Governor Uba Sani and his cabal of political allies.
Instead of turning the public against Malam, millions of everyday Nigerians—on the streets, across communities, and dominating the media space—have spontaneously risen to defend El-Rufai. This massive organic defense is rooted in genuine public trust, organic credibility, and deep affection for a leader whose transformative strides speak for themselves. This is an authentic goodwill that all the state treasury resources, APC-Uba Sani PR budgets, and hired political proxies can never buy.
The Dangerous Alignment and Divisive Precedents
The underlying hypocrisy of this political axis is impossible to ignore. A government that finds comfort in appointing Zamani Lekwot—who was convicted under the General Ibrahim Babangida regime over the deadly 1992 Zango-Kataf communal violence—to head the Kaduna State Elders Forum tells discerning Nigerians everything they need to know. It exposes their true posture toward historical violence, sectarian appeasement, and justice. To rehabilitate such figures while weaponizing the defence ministry to criminalize El-Rufai’s decisive security reforms is the height of sectional politics. Also Musa is blaming Elrufai for picking a Muslim-Muslim Ticket while still serving in one.
Setting the Record Straight
The claim that Malam Nasir El-Rufai orchestrated killings or fostered ethnic division is an outrageous inversion of documented reality:
1. Security Logistics and Forward Operating Bases:
The El-Rufai administration championed and funded the establishment of military Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) in Southern Kaduna (including Kafanchan), consistently procured operational vehicles and tactical equipment for federal security forces, and established the Kaduna State Vigilance Service (KADSVS) to defend all communities equally.
2. Institutional Peacebuilding: The administration established the Kaduna State Peace Commission—the first statutory peace agency in Northern Nigeria—bringing community and religious leaders together to resolve centuries-old communal and farmer-herder crises systematically.
3. Equitable Development: Under El-Rufai, massive urban renewal projects, upgraded primary healthcare centres, and reconstructed public schools were deployed across all three senatorial zones without sectional or tribal bias.
Demands and 72-Hour Ultimatum
We hereby issue a strict 72-hour ultimatum to General Christopher Musa (rtd) to publicly retract his defamatory and inflammatory remarks across national television networks and national dailies, accompanied by an unreserved written apology.
Should he fail to comply within the stipulated 72 hours, we will immediately execute the following steps:
Immediate Legal Action: Instruct our legal team to institute civil defamation and criminal libel proceedings against him in a court of competent jurisdiction to hold him fully accountable for these actionable falsehoods.
International Petitions: Formally petition the international community, diplomatic missions, and global human rights institutions regarding the weaponization of Nigeria’s defence portfolio for sectional proxy warfare. When an official charged with national defence abuses his public platform to fabricate intelligence and peddle partisan propaganda, Nigeria's national security architecture loses all credibility on the global stage.
A Disgrace to High Office Rather than dedicating his full energy to confronting the pressing security challenges threatening the nation, Mr. Musa has reduced the defence portfolio to an attack-dog outfit for local political patronage. His divisive rhetoric raises alarming concerns of ethno-regional chauvinism, echoing dangerous precedents that exploit communal wounds for political survival.
We express our profound gratitude to the millions of fair-minded Nigerians and steadfast El-Rufai'ists across the nation who immediately saw through this desperate propaganda and stood firmly on the side of truth and integrity.
Thank you, Nigeria. Thank you, El-Rufai'ists.
Signed: Directorate of Media & Publicity El-Rufai Youth Movement