The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, has accused former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai of taking actions that allegedly worsened divisions and insecurity in the state during his administration.

Musa made the allegations on Thursday during an interview with Channels Television, where he claimed that policies and actions under El-Rufai deepened the divide between northern and southern Kaduna.

According to the minister, the situation became so severe that residents were allegedly restricted from freely living in parts of the state outside their areas of origin.

“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 ones from the north were moving to the south,” Musa said.

He, however, praised the incumbent governor, Uba Sani, for what he described as deliberate efforts to rebuild trust and restore unity across the state.

Musa said Sani had made significant progress in creating an environment where residents could move freely and participate in the affairs of the state, although he acknowledged that challenges remained.

“You see now, everybody is free. Everybody has a say. It’s not 100 percent, let me tell you; it’s not 100 percent. But you can see that he’s making deliberate effort in uniting the state,” he said.

The minister further alleged that residents in southern Kaduna remained aggrieved over the handling of insecurity and killings during El-Rufai’s tenure.

He also referred to past public statements attributed to the former governor concerning his administration’s approach to dealing with banditry, including alleged payments to bandits.

“If you look at his videos, 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,” Musa alleged.

He maintained that his criticism of the former governor did not amount to personal animosity, describing El-Rufai instead as “misguided.”

Musa also claimed that the scale of killings recorded in southern Kaduna during El-Rufai’s administration was significantly higher than what residents were experiencing under the current government.

“If you look at the number of killings that were done there (southern Kaduna) and what is going on now, you can’t compare at all,” he said.

The minister alleged that the former governor’s administration also restricted opportunities for stakeholders to intervene in the security situation, adding that the current administration had created what he described as a “breath of fresh air.”

Musa further accused El-Rufai of using his influence to demolish the properties of some residents following personal disagreements.

“I can tell you people what he has done to people living in Kaduna State from his own area. He had just personal [issues] with friends. The next thing, he sends a bulldozer to bulldoze your house down. He’s done it,” he alleged.

He urged Nigerians to examine publicly available records of the former governor’s tenure, insisting that his allegations were not fabricated.

Musa said his position was not based on his origin from Kaduna State but on his concern as a Nigerian over developments affecting the country.

He called for the emergence of political leaders who would prioritise national cohesion and work to bridge Nigeria’s ethnic and religious divides rather than exploit them for political advantage.