Defence Minister Accuses El-Rufai Of Dividing Kaduna, Says Nigeria Has Defeated Terrorism

Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa, has accused former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, of taking actions that allegedly deepened divisions in the state.

Musa made the allegation during an interview on Channels Television’s Programme Politics Today on Thursday, where he also spoke extensively on Nigeria’s security situation, state police, ransom payments, terrorism and defence spending.

According to the minister, El-Rufai’s administration contributed to a situation in which residents from different parts of Kaduna became reluctant to live in other parts of the state.

“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.

In the broader security situation, Musa maintained that Nigeria had made significant progress in the fight against terrorism under President Bola Tinubu, arguing that large-scale attacks had become less frequent.

He said terrorists were now largely restricted to isolated attacks after identifying what he described as “soft spots” where they could operate with less resistance.

“Well, the truth about it is that we don’t have those brazen attacks as it used to be,” Musa said.

“Before now, you used to see Boko Haram come in, go to places, attack areas, do things, and go back. You don’t hear them. Once in a while, they try to sneak out and go to an isolated area, which is what they normally do. They look out for the soft spots, areas they think they can easily make the impact.”

The minister also advocated caution in the distribution of motorcycles as government palliatives, warning that terrorists could exploit them for mobility.

He said governments that must distribute motorcycles should consider low-capacity models to reduce their potential security implications.

On the proposed establishment of state police, Musa said the idea could be beneficial if properly implemented but warned against allowing security institutions to become tools of ethnic or sectional interests.

“State police are good if used well. It must be properly processed. We should not allow it to go into ethnic groups,” he said.

Musa also reiterated the Federal Government’s position against ransom payments to kidnappers, describing the payment of ransom as an offence.

“We are not paying. We don’t encourage ransom. Anybody who is even paying ransom is committing an offence. It’s not a government policy to pay ransom to anybody,” he said.

Speaking on the alleged coup plot involving some individuals, the minister said the matter remained before the courts while investigations continued.

He said the Department of State Services and the National Intelligence Agency were still investigating the allegations and would release information when they were certain of the facts.

Musa described the alleged plotters as “misguided individuals” and maintained that the alleged attempt was real.

The Defence Minister also highlighted the enormous size of Sambisa Forest, saying the area was comparable in size to Belgium and should not be treated as a small territory that could easily be cleared of terrorists.

On Nigeria’s defence budget, Musa addressed questions over the N5.41 trillion allocated to defence and the cost of modern military equipment.

He explained that advanced weapons and precision munitions were extremely expensive, citing the cost of a Tomahawk missile and precision drone bombs.

“Divide it into dollars, what can you buy? One Tomahawk missile that was fired is $3.2 million; one precision drone bomb is at least $100,000; that’s N140 million,” he said.

“Imagine when you fire it, if it hits somebody, or doesn’t hit something, N140 million is gone.”