Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed General Christopher Gwabin Musa (rtd) as the new Minister of Defence to replace Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar who resigned on Monday, December 1, 2025.
According to the office of the President, Alhaji Abubakar’s decision to leave office was based on health grounds.
President Tinubu who accepted the resignation, expressed gratitude for Abubakar’s service to the nation. The former minister, 63, previously served as a two-term governor of Jigawa State from 2015 to 2023 before being appointed Minister of Defence on August 21, 2023.
His exit comes at a time when President Tinubu had declared a national security emergency, an indication of the government’s intensifying efforts to confront the country’s worsening security situation.
With Abubakar’s departure, President Tinubu’s choice of General Christopher Musa signals a decisive shift toward more experienced military leadership at the helm of Nigeria’s defence establishment.
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.
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.
In the letter to the Senate, President Tinubu expressed confidence in General Musa’s ability to lead the Ministry of Defence and further strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture.
Nigeria’s Senate is expected to begin confirmation hearings for Gen. Musa soon. Once approved, he will take charge of what is expected to be Nigeria’s most ambitious security overhaul in years, a comprehensive effort aimed at strengthening military capacity, improving intelligence coordination, and restoring stability across the country.
