President Bola Tinubu has nominated the former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa (retd.), as Nigeria’s new Minister of Defence, just a day after the sudden resignation of Badaru Abubakar on health grounds.
The announcement, disclosed in a letter to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, was confirmed by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who said Tinubu had expressed “confidence in General Musa’s ability to lead the Ministry of Defence and further strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture.”
Musa’s nomination comes barely 24 hours after he was seen entering the Presidential Villa for a meeting with the President on Monday evening. Aged 58, the retired general served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 until his retirement in October 2025. A recipient of the Colin Powell Award for Soldiering, Musa is widely regarded as one of the army’s most experienced counter-insurgency commanders.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, Musa studied at the College of Advanced Studies in Zaria before enrolling at the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1986. Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1991, he has held several strategic positions, including Commander of Sector 3 Operation Lafiya Dole, Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai, and Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps.
Abubakar, 63, a former governor of Jigawa State, stepped down on Monday after what aides described as a deterioration in his health. Tinubu has accepted his resignation and “thanked him for his services to the nation,” Onanuga said.
The reshuffle unfolds against a backdrop of rising insecurity and Tinubu’s recent declaration of a nationwide security emergency. The sweeping measures announced by the government—recruitment of 20,000 new police officers, deployment of forest guards, and beefed-up protection for schools, churches and mosques—signal a more muscular posture after months of public anxiety over kidnappings, extremist violence and rural attacks.
Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang welcomed Musa’s nomination, describing him as “a gallant, courageous and exceptionally competent officer” whose track record shows “intellectual depth, professional excellence, discipline and unwavering dedication.” He urged Nigerians to rally behind the incoming minister in the fight against terrorism and violent crime.
Earlier on Tuesday, Tinubu convened closed-door security talks with the Service Chiefs and heads of intelligence agencies. In attendance were the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Olufemi Oluyede; Army Chief Lt. Gen. W. Shaibu; Air Chief AVM Sunday Aneke; Naval Chief Vice Admiral I. Abbas; Defence Intelligence head Lt. Gen. Akomaye Undiandeye; DSS Director-General Oluwatosin Ajayi; and Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun.
The meeting follows Washington’s decision to redesignate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” over widespread Christian persecution and extremist attacks. A high-level delegation led by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu was recently dispatched to Washington to manage the diplomatic fallout and explore joint frameworks for security cooperation.
Also sighted at the Villa on Tuesday was the Abia State governor, Alex Otti, though it remains unclear whether he took part in the security briefing. Otti recently visited the detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, in Sokoto prison and has publicly indicated his desire to see him released—a move likely to add further complexity to the administration’s security calculations.
Musa’s nomination now awaits Senate confirmation, but the timing—swift and strategic—signals a presidency keen to reassert control over a deteriorating security landscape.
