Former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa (retd.), on Monday paid a private visit to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in his first known meeting with the President since stepping down from office on October 24, 2025.
Musa arrived at the State House at about 7:03 p.m. in traditional northern attire and was escorted directly to the President’s office. The purpose of the closed-door meeting was not officially disclosed.
The visit comes amid intensified federal response to a nationwide security emergency declared by President Tinubu following a surge in banditry and insurgent attacks across several northern states. Measures already announced include the recruitment of 20,000 additional police officers, nationwide deployment of forest guards, and reinforced protection for schools, places of worship and other vulnerable locations.
Public concern has grown following a wave of mass abductions across the North and parts of the North-Central. At least 25 schoolgirls were abducted in Maga, Kebbi State; 38 worshippers were kidnapped in Eruku, Kwara State; while more than 300 students and staff were taken from a Catholic school in Niger State. Security data indicate that in a 13-day period alone, no fewer than 490 persons were seized by bandits across several northern communities.
Meanwhile, another former CDS, General Lucky Irabor (retd.), has rejected claims that repentant Boko Haram members are being recruited into the Nigerian military.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Irabor described the allegations as baseless and inconsistent with existing recruitment procedures.
“It has always been a burden for me where we got this impression from. How can they be recruited? This does not exist,” he said.
Irabor, who previously served as Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, later Chief of Defence Training and Operations, and CDS for two and a half years, said the military’s vetting process makes infiltration impossible.
“You cannot come into the military unless those in your local government area have sanctioned you,” he added.
He further explained that Operation Safe Corridor, the Federal Government’s deradicalisation and rehabilitation programme for low-risk ex-insurgents who surrender voluntarily, is a civilian-led initiative and does not provide any pathway into military service.
While acknowledging gaps in the nation’s security response, Irabor dismissed suggestions that the current wave of attacks reflects a failure of the armed forces, stressing instead the need for increased manpower, modern equipment and improved adaptation to evolving security threats.
Musa, a member of the 38th Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy, was appointed CDS by President Tinubu in June 2023 and served until his retirement in October 2025, when Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede was appointed as his successor.