One Month After Sacking Him, Tinubu Nominates Christopher Musa as Defence Minister

President Bola Tinubu has nominated the immediate former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Gwabin Musa, as the new Minister of Defence.

Tinubu conveyed the nomination in a letter to Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President.

If confirmed by the Senate, Musa will succeed Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who resigned on Monday, December 1, 2025.

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, noted in a statement on Tuesday that Tinubu was confident that Musa would bring renewed leadership to the defence ministry at a time the government has declared a national security emergency.

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“General Musa, 58, is a distinguished soldier who served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 until October 2025. He won the Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012,” the statement reads.

“Born in Sokoto in 1967, General Musa received his primary and secondary education there before attending the College of Advanced Studies in Zaria.

“He graduated in 1986 and enrolled at the Nigerian Defence Academy the same year, earning a Bachelor of Science degree upon graduation in 1991.

“General Musa was commissioned into the Nigerian Army as a Second Lieutenant in 1991 and has since had a distinguished career.

“His appointments include General Staff Officer 1, Training/Operations at HQ 81 Division; Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion; Assistant Director, Operational Requirements, Department of Army Policy and Plans; and Infantry Representative/Member, Training Team, HQ Nigerian Army Armour Corps.

“In 2019, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Training/Operations, Headquarters Infantry Centre and Corps; Commander, Sector 3, Operation Lafiya Dole; and Commander, Sector 3 Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Region.

“In 2021, General Musa was appointed Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai.

“He later became Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps before being appointed Chief of Defence Staff by President Tinubu in 2023.”

Musa's nomination comes one month after the President relieved him of his duty as the CDS, as part of a rapid shakeup in the military hierarchy in the wake of a reported failed coup plot.

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On October 24, 2025, Tinubu announced the replacement of all service chiefs, except for the Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI), but repurposed the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Olufemi Oluyede, as the CDS.

Despite the military change of guard, cases of insecurity have intensified across the country.

Over 350 people, including churchgoers, schoolchildren, and farmers, have been abducted in separate attacks across the country in the last three weeks alone.

The new wave of attacks followed a threat by United States President Donald Trump to invade Nigeria militarily over claims of Christian persecution.