General Christopher Gwabin Musa being sworn in
By Abdullahi Abubakar
President Bola Tinubu has sworn-in General Christopher Musa as the country’s minister of defence in a major push to restructure Nigeria’s security setup.
Musa’s swearing-in ceremony took place at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday, a day after a five-hour grilling by the Senate, leading to his confirmation.
Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, also shared a photo of Musa’s oath of office-taking event on his X handle.
His appointment comes at a time of heightened insecurity in Nigeria with mass abductions, banditry, and kidnapping taking centre stage across parts of the country.
President Donald Trump of US had threatened military action in Nigeria over the killings and what he described as the mass slaughter of Christians, prompting a ramp up of security measures by the Federal Government, including a reshuffle of security chiefs.
During his screening at the Senate, Musa, who is the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), decried the rising levels of kidnapping for ransom.
But he believes with the use of technology, security agencies can track the payment of such monies. He told the Senators that ransom payment fuels banditry, ruling out the need for negotiation with criminals.
“The use of technology is very important. Like I said, if we are able to have a database – every Nigerian has a number linked to everything you have electronically – we can monitor everything,” Musa, who was Nigeria’s CDS between June 2023 and October 2025, said.
According to him, the payment of ransom “compromises security” and undermines the fight against criminals.
On Tuesday, Tinubu nominated Musa as the defence minister, sending a letter to the Senate to confirm the ex-CDS for the position left vacant after Mohammed Badaru’s resignation the previous day.
Tinubu told the 109-member Senate of his confidence in Musa’s abilities to lead Nigeria’s security setup.
A day after that, he was screened and confirmed as the substantive minister of defence, taking over one of Nigeria’s most important offices.
The 57-year-old Musa was CDS between June 19 2023 and October 24, 2025.
