President Bola Tinubu has nominated Christopher Gwabin Musa as Nigeria’s new Minister of Defence.
The nomination was contained in a letter the President transmitted to Senate President Godswill Akpabio. Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced the development in a statement issued on Tuesday afternoon.
In the letter, President Tinubu expressed strong confidence in General Musa’s capacity to lead the Ministry of Defence and further strengthen the country’s security architecture.
Musa’s nomination comes just days after Mohammed Badaru Abubakar resigned as Minister of Defence.
General Musa, who turns 58 on December 25, previously served as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) from 2023 until October 2025, when the President relieved him of the position. The former CDS was sighted at the Presidential Villa on Monday, December 1, where he held a private meeting with President Tinubu only hours before Badaru’s resignation.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, Musa completed his primary and secondary education in the state before attending the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria. He graduated in 1986 and immediately enrolled at the Nigerian Defence Academy, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1991.
Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1991, General Musa has had a distinguished military career. His past appointments include serving as General Staff Officer 1, Training/Operations at Headquarters 81 Division; Commanding Officer of the 73 Battalion; Assistant Director of Operational Requirements in the Department of Army Policy and Plans; and Infantry Representative and Member of the Training Team at Headquarters Nigerian Army Armour Corps.
In 2019, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Training/Operations at Headquarters Infantry Centre and Corps; Commander of Sector 3, Operation Lafiya Dole; and Commander of Sector 3 of the Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad region.
In 2021, Musa was appointed Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai. He later became Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps before being appointed Chief of Defence Staff in 2023.
