President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Gwabin Musa (rtd), as Nigeria’s new Minister of Defence.His nomination was forwarded to the Senate on Tuesday in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio. The communication was made public in a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.General Musa is to replace Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who resigned from the cabinet on Monday on health grounds.
Musa, who turns 58 on December 25, is widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s most seasoned infantry commanders. He served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 until October 2025 and received the prestigious Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, he completed his early 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, earning his commission as a Second Lieutenant that same year.
Over a military career spanning more than 30 years, Musa held key operational and command roles across the Nigerian Army. His past appointments include General Staff Officer 1, Training and Operations, Headquarters 81 Division; Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion; Assistant Director, Operational Requirements, Army Policy and Plans; and Infantry Representative on the Nigerian Army Armour Corps Training Team.
He also served as Deputy Chief of Staff (Training/Operations) at the Infantry Centre and Corps in 2019; Commander, Sector 3, Operation Lafiya Dole; and later Commander of Sector 3 of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in the Lake Chad Basin.
In 2021, he was appointed Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai, the military’s main counterterrorism operation in the Northeast. He later became Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps before being appointed CDS in 2023 by President Tinubu. In his letter to the Senate, President Tinubu said General Musa’s extensive operational background and leadership credentials make him highly qualified to lead the Defence Ministry at a time Nigeria is ramping up efforts to strengthen its security architecture. The Senate is expected to begin screening the nominee in the coming days.
