RismadarVoice Media, December 2, 2025
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, as Nigeria’s new Minister of Defence.
The nomination was contained in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, in which the President forwarded General Musa as the preferred replacement for Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who resigned on Monday.
General Musa, who turns 58 on December 25, is a highly decorated military officer and one of Nigeria’s most experienced defence strategists.
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, Musa completed his primary and secondary education in the state before proceeding to the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria, in 1986.
He gained admission into the Nigerian Defence Academy the same year and graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree.
Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1991, General Musa has held several key command and staff positions, including General Staff Officer 1 (Training/Operations) at Headquarters 81 Division; Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion; Assistant Director, Operational Requirements, Department of Army Policy and Plans; and Infantry Representative/Member of the Training Team at the Nigerian Army Armour Corps.
In 2019, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff (Training/Operations) at the Infantry Centre and Corps, and later as Commander of Sector 3, Operation Lafiya Dole, as well as Commander of Sector 3 of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in the Lake Chad region.
General Musa was appointed Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai, in 2021.
He subsequently became Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps before President Tinubu appointed him Chief of Defence Staff in 2023.
In the letter to the Senate, President Tinubu expressed confidence in the nominee’s capacity to lead the Ministry of Defence and further strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture.
