CITIZENS COMPASS—Following the nomination of former Defence Minister, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar on Monday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday, nominated General Christopher Gwabin Musa as the new Minister of Defence.
The nomination was formally conveyed in a letter to Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
Gen. Musa, who will turn 58 on December 25, is the immediate-past Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, a position he held between 2023 until October 2025.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, General Musa completed his primary and secondary education in the state before attending the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria.
He gained admission into the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in 1986 and graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree, after which he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army.
Over the course of a distinguished military career, he has held several key appointments, including:
General Staff Officer 1, Training/Operations, HQ 81 Division.
Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion
Assistant Director, Operational Requirements, Department of Army Policy and Plans
Infantry Representative/Member, Training Team, Nigerian Army Armour Corps.
Deputy Chief of Staff, Training/Operations, HQ Infantry Corps (2019)
Commander, Sector 3, Operation Lafiya Dole Commander, Sector 3, Multinational Joint Task Force, Lake Chad.
Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai (2021) Commander, Nigerian Army Infantry Corps Chief of Defence Staff (2023–2025).
Confirming the nomination, the Statehouse in a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President, said:
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated General Christopher Gwabin Musa as the new Minister of Defence.
In a letter to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, President Tinubu conveyed General Musa’s nomination as the successor to Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who resigned on Monday.
General Musa, 58, on December 25, is a distinguished soldier who served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 until October 2025. He won the Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, General Musa received his primary and secondary education there before attending the College of Advanced Studies in Zaria. He graduated in 1986 and enrolled at the Nigerian Defence Academy the same year, earning a Bachelor of Science degree upon graduation in 1991.
General Musa was commissioned into the Nigerian Army as a Second Lieutenant in 1991 and has since had a distinguished career. His appointments include General Staff Officer 1, Training/Operations at HQ 81 Division; Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion; Assistant Director, Operational Requirements, Department of Army Policy and Plans; and Infantry Representative/Member, Training Team, HQ Nigerian Army Armour Corps.
In 2019, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Training/Operations, Headquarters Infantry Centre and Corps; Commander, Sector 3, Operation Lafiya Dole; and Commander, Sector 3 Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Region.
In 2021, General Musa was appointed Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai. He later became Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps before being appointed Chief of Defence Staff by President Tinubu in 2023.
In the letter to the Senate, President Tinubu expressed confidence in General Musa’s ability to lead the Ministry of Defence and further strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture.
