Kehinde Ishola
President Bola Tinubu has nominated a former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa (retd.), as the new Minister of Defence.
The nomination was conveyed in a letter forwarded to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday, announcing Musa as the replacement for Mohammed Badaru, who resigned from office on Monday due to health reasons.
In the letter read at plenary, the President expressed confidence in Musa’s capacity to head the defence ministry and strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture.
The nomination was later confirmed in a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga.
According to the statement, “General Musa, 58, is a distinguished soldier who served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 to October 2025. He is a recipient of the **Colin Powell Award for Soldiering (2012).”
Born in Sokoto in 1967, Musa completed his primary and secondary education in the state before attending the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria. He graduated in 1986 and enrolled at the Nigerian Defence Academy the same year, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1991.
He was commissioned into the Nigerian Army as a Second Lieutenant in 1991 and has held several key operational and strategic positions, including General Staff Officer 1, Training/Operations at Headquarters 81 Division; Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion; Assistant Director, Operational Requirements, Department of Army Policy and Plans; and Infantry Representative, Training Team, Headquarters Nigerian Army Armour Corps.
In 2019, Musa served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Training/Operations at the Headquarters Infantry Centre and Corps; Commander, Sector 3, Operation Lafiya Dole; and Commander, Sector 3, Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Region.
He was appointed Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai in 2021, later becoming Commander, Nigerian Army Infantry Corps before his appointment as Chief of Defence Staff by President Tinubu in 2023.
Badaru, who was appointed Minister of Defence on August 21, 2023, earlier tendered his resignation, citing ill health. President Tinubu has since accepted the resignation and thanked him for his service to the nation.
The presidency noted that the resignation comes amid the President’s recent declaration of a national security emergency, with details expected to be communicated to the Senate.
Badaru had recently come under public criticism following a BBC Hausa interview in which he stated that some terrorists could not be targeted because their forest hideouts were too dense for aerial bombardment.