PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has nominated immediate past Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Christopher Musa, as the Minister of Defence.
He replaces Mohammed Badaru Abubakar who resigned yesterday over alleged ill-health.
His nomination was contained in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday. Tinubu expressed confidence in Musa’s capacity to lead Nigeria’s Defence Ministry and coordinate the country’s security.
The president’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, also confirmed the nomination.
Part of the president’s letter to the Senate reads, “General Musa, 58, on December 25, 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.”
Musa, who turns 58 on December 25, previously served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 until October 24, 2025, when Tinubu relieved him and others of their positions.
His removal came at the peak of heightened military vigilance following coup attempts in parts of West and Central Africa, prompting rumours that Abuja was tightening control over top security commanders who allegedly attempted to truncate democracy in Africa’s largest nation.
Although the Presidency neither publicly admitted there was a planned putsch nor linked Musa’s sack to the reported coup attempt, the flurry of arrests within the period raised dusts and provoked suspicion.
The timing of Musa and other security chiefs sack stirred widespread speculation within security establishments and among netizens, with some commentators stating that removing the nation’s top military officers at such a time was a source of concern.
Before that controversy, Musa had reportedly earned a reputation as one of the military’s most experienced operational commanders.
He won the Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012 and built a career that spanned key training, operational, and command appointments.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, he attended basic schools in the state before moving to the College of Advanced Studies in Zaria. He joined the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1986 and was commissioned in 1991.
Musa held several prestigious roles, including General Staff Officer 1, Training and Operations, at Headquarters 81 Division; Commanding Officer of 73 Battalion; Assistant Director, Operational Requirements at Army Policy and Plans; and Infantry Representative at the Nigerian Army Armour Corps.
His counterinsurgency experience deepened from 2019, when he became Deputy Chief of Staff Training/Operations at the Infantry Centre and Corps, and later Commander of Sector 3 under Operation Lafiya Dole.
He went on to lead Sector 3 of the Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Basin before assuming command of Operation Hadin Kai in 2021. He later led the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps ahead of his appointment as Chief of Defence Staff in 2023.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M