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Tinubu Nominates Ex-CDS Christopher Musa as New Defence Ministresident Bola Tinubu nominates former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, as Minister of Defence.
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Musa, 58, previously led major counter-insurgency operations including Operation Hadin Kai.
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His nomination follows the resignation of former Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru due to health reasons.
President Bola Tinubu has nominated former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, as the new Minister of Defence.
Musa, born on December 25, 1967, is 58 years old. He graduated from the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree after completing his early education in Sokoto and attending the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria, in 1986.
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He served as the 18th Chief of Defence Staff from June 2023 to October 2025, overseeing joint military operations across the Army, Navy and Air Force. Before his appointment as CDS, he was the Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps from 2022 to 2023, where he directed infantry training, strategy and operations.
READ ALSO:Tinubu Names Ex-CDS Musa as New Defence Minister
Between 2021 and 2022, Musa led Operation Hadin Kai as Theatre Commander in the North-East, a period marked by major counter-terrorism offensives against Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) elements.
From 2019 to 2021, he commanded Sector 3 of the Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Basin, coordinating regional military efforts involving Chad, Niger and Cameroon. During the same period, he also led Sector 3 under Operation Lafiya Dole, supervising sector-level insurgency operations.
Earlier in 2019, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff (Training/Operations) at the Infantry Centre and Corps Headquarters. Prior to that, he held several strategic positions including Assistant Director of Operational Requirements at Army Headquarters, Commanding Officer of 73 Battalion, and Infantry Representative on the Armour Corps Training Team.
Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1991, Musa has maintained a career rooted in infantry command and operational planning.
He is a recipient of several honours, including the Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012.
