Tinubu Nominates Gen. Christopher Musa, as New Defence Minister

By Chinedu Echianu

President Bola Tinubu has nominated former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, as Nigeria’s new Minister of Defence, following the resignation of Mohammed Badaru Abubakar on Monday.

The announcement was made in a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

The nomination was contained in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, in which President Tinubu urged the Senate to confirm the retired senior officer, whom he described as highly qualified to strengthen the nation’s security architecture.

General Musa, who turns 58 on December 25, previously served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 until October 2025. A recipient of the prestigious Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012, he is widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s most experienced military commanders.

Born in Sokoto in 1967, Musa completed his primary and secondary education in the state before attending the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria. He enrolled in the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1986 and graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree, after which he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army.

Over a career spanning more than three decades, General Musa held several key command and staff positions, including General Staff Officer 1, Training and Operations at 81 Division; Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion; Assistant Director, Operational Requirements at Army Headquarters; and Infantry Representative in the Nigerian Army Armour Corps.

He also played prominent roles in counterterrorism operations. In 2019, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Training and Operations at the Infantry Centre and Corps, and later as Commander of Sector 3 in both Operation Lafiya Dole and the Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad region. In 2021, he was appointed Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai, before becoming Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps and subsequently Chief of Defence Staff under President Tinubu.

The President expressed strong confidence in General Musa’s capacity to lead the Defence Ministry at a critical time, expressing hope that his nomination would receive swift legislative approval.