There are strong indications that the immediate former Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Gen. Christopher Musa, rtd, may replace Alhaji Abubakar Badaru as Defence Minister.
Badaru resigned on Monday citing health reasons.
Musa was in Aso Rock on Monday to see the President for undisclosed reasons, which sources said may be connected with his impending new appointment by the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, President Bola Tinubu, who is giving the fight against terrorism and insecurity a more serious attention.
Sources said that the former defence chief was summoned to the Presidential Villa for a closed-door meeting late Monday night.
It was also learned from a Presidency source on Tuesday in Abuja that the President is considering Musa as replacement for Badaru in view of his wealth of experience as the former CDS.
Against the backdrop of escalating security concerns in the country, the Presidency on Monday night announced that Badaru had resigned on health grounds.
Swiftly, the President, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, graciously accepted the resignation letter.
Meanwhile, the former CDS, earlier on Monday, met with President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The former CDS, who was recently relieved of his position in a major military shake-up, arrived at the State House at about 7:03 p.m. and was led into the President’s office area by a senior security official.
General Musa was seen dressed in dark-green traditional northern attire with elbow-length sleeves.
It was gathered that the meeting, which was held behind closed doors, was the first time between the duo since Musa’s retirement on October 24, 2025.
At the time of filing this report, the agenda of the meeting was not made public.
President Tinubu is expected to announce Badaru’s replacement to the Senate any moment from now.
Badaru Abubakar, 63, served as the governor of Jigawa State for two terms from 2015 to 2023.
On August 21, 2023, President Tinubu appointed Badaru whose resignation comes amid President Tinubu’s declaration of a national security emergency, with plans to elaborate on its scope in due course.
Musa, on arrival at the State House at 7:03 p.m. on Monday, was escorted into the President’s office area by a senior security official. He wore a dark-green traditional northern attire with elbow-length sleeves.
The North has been hit hard by insecurity, with incidents like the abduction of schoolgirls in Kebbi, an attack on worshippers in Eruku, Kwara, and the kidnapping of Catholic schoolchildren in Minna.
These events have pushed security agencies to step up counterterrorism and anti-kidnapping efforts across the North-West and North-Central regions.
Musa was born on December 25, 1967, in Sokoto, which was then part of the former North-Western State (now Sokoto State), Nigeria, and comes from Zangon Kataf in Southern Kaduna State, Nigeria.
He started at Marafa Danbaba Primary School in Sokoto in 1974, then moved to Model Primary School on Dorowa Road, Sokoto, in 1978, where he stayed until 1980. After that, he completed vocational training in Gaummi, Sokoto, from 1980 to 1981.
He enrolled at Federal Government College, Sokoto, in 1981 and completed his O’ levels in 1985. During his time there, he was a member of the National Cadet Corps. He then attended the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria, where he remained until 1986.
In 1986, Musa joined the Nigerian Defence Academy, earning a Bachelor of Science (Hons) upon graduating in 1991, after which he was commissioned into the Nigerian Army as a Second Lieutenant.
In September 1991, he joined the 38th Regular Course 21 at the Nigerian Defence Academy, completing a Mechanical Transportation Officers Course in 1992. Musa took the Young Officers Course in Infantry in 1993, followed by the Regimental Signal Officers Course in 1998, and in 2000 attended the Junior Course at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji.
From 2004 to 2005, he completed the Senior Course at the same college. Between 2007 and 2008, he earned an Advanced Diploma in Security Management from the University of Lagos.
In 2012–2013, he obtained an Advanced Diploma in Defence and Strategies and a Master of Science in Military Science from the International College of Defence Studies, National Defence University, Changping, China. In 2017, he attended the Combined Joint Land Component Commander’s Course on Leadership at the US Army War College.
