Nigeria’s defence minister, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, has resigned his appointment, with immediate effect.
A late Monday night terse statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President,
(Information and Strategy) says:
“In a letter dated December 1, sent to President Bola Tinubu, Abubakar said he was quitting on health grounds.
President Tinubu has accepted the resignation and thanked Abubakar for his services to the nation.
President Tinubu will likely inform the Senate of Badaru’s successor later this week.
Badaru Abubakar, 63, was a two-term governor of Jigawa state from 2015 to 2023. He was appointed as a minister on August 21, 2023, by President Tinubu.
His resignation comes amid President Tinubu’s declaration of a national security emergency, with plans to elaborate on its scope in due course.”
Speculation had been rife about a possible cabinet change which intensified on Monday following a private meeting between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the recently retired Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Gwabin Musa (Rtd.). This came hours before the announcement of the minister’s resignation.
Gen. CG Musa, who retired on October 24, 2025, was led into the President’s office area by a senior security official for the meeting at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa. The purpose of the meeting was not immediately known, but the subsequent resignation of Minister Badaru suggested Musa may be poised for a new cabinet appointment.
Badaru, 63, and a two-term governor of Jigawa State (2015-2023), was appointed Minister of Defence on August 21, 2023.
The change in the Defence Ministry comes amid President Tinubu’s recent declaration of a national security emergency and heightened security concerns across the North, including the abduction of schoolgirls in Kebbi, attacks in Kwara, and the kidnapping of Catholic schoolchildren in Minna.
Gen. Musa, Nigeria’s 18th Chief of Defence Staff, was appointed in June 2023 and retired in October 2025, handing over to General Olufemi Oluyede.
Originally from Zangon Kataf in Kaduna State, Musa gained national prominence as Theatre Commander of Operation HADIN KAI, where he led counter-insurgency operations against Boko Haram in the North-East.
His tenure as Defence Chief was marked by strong advocacy for civil-military cooperation, modernization of Nigeria’s defense strategy, and being vocal against corruption, which he described as “economic sabotage”. Musa was awarded the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) for his service.
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