President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated General Christopher Gwabin Musa as Nigeria’s new Minister of Defence.

The President formally communicated the nomination in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, naming General Musa as the replacement for Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who resigned from the position on Monday.

General Musa, who turns 58 on December 25, is a seasoned military officer and former Chief of Defence Staff, a role he held from 2023 to October 2025. He is also a recipient of the prestigious Colin Powell Award for Soldiering, which he won in 2012.

Born in Sokoto in 1967, Musa attended his primary and secondary schooling in the state before proceeding to the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria. He completed the programme in 1986 and immediately enrolled in the Nigerian Defence Academy, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in 1991.

Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1991, General Musa has built a distinguished military career. His notable appointments include General Staff Officer 1, Training and Operations, 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.

By 2019, he had served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Training and 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, he was appointed Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai, before later leading the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps. President Tinubu appointed him Chief of Defence Staff in 2023.

In his letter to the Senate, President Tinubu expressed confidence in General Musa’s capacity to provide strategic leadership at the Ministry of Defence and bolster Nigeria’s security architecture.