Abuja, Nigeria – December 4, 2025 – In a powerful and widely welcomed confirmation, the Nigerian Senate has unanimously approved retired General Christopher Gwabin Musa as the country’s new Minister of Defence. The 58-year-old former Chief of Defence Staff, who retired in October after nearly four decades of distinguished military service, now takes charge of the nation’s security architecture at a time when banditry, terrorism, and mass kidnappings have reached alarming levels across multiple regions.
During an intense five-hour screening session, General Musa laid out a comprehensive, no-compromise strategy that immediately won praise from lawmakers and security analysts alike. At the top of his agenda is a complete and permanent ban on negotiating with terrorists or paying ransoms. “There should be no negotiation or ransom payment to terrorists,” he declared emphatically, warning that every ransom paid allows criminals to buy more weapons, recruit more fighters, and launch deadlier attacks. He cited numerous cases where communities that paid millions of naira were raided again within weeks, proving that ransom only fuels the cycle of violence.
Musa stressed that military action alone accounts for just 25–30% of the solution. The remaining 70–75%, he said, lies in tackling poverty, illiteracy, weak governance, and the near-total collapse of local government structures that have allowed criminals to operate freely in forests and ungoverned spaces. He urged state governors and local council chairmen to take ownership of grassroots intelligence and early intervention, insisting that security agencies cannot fight the war alone.
A major frustration repeatedly highlighted by the new minister is Nigeria’s painfully slow judicial system. Terrorism and kidnapping cases often drag on for years, allowing dangerous suspects to walk free on technicalities and demoralising troops who risk their lives to make arrests. Musa demanded urgent reforms: the establishment of special courts for terrorism and kidnapping, accelerated hearings, and far stricter penalties—including the death penalty without option of fine—to serve as a genuine deterrent.
He also sounded the alarm on new threats emerging along Nigeria’s maritime borders, particularly the Akwa Ibom–Cameroon corridor, where sea robbery, piracy, and coastal kidnappings are on the rise. Operation Delta Safe, he announced, is being expanded into previously quiet zones now showing signs of criminal infiltration.
Illegal mining received special attention as one of the biggest funding pipelines for armed groups. Musa called for an immediate nationwide ban and aggressive enforcement, describing the activity as “pure economic sabotage that arms terrorists.”
In a move that will be welcomed by long-suffering motorists, the minister pledged to drastically reduce routine military checkpoints across the country, redeploying thousands of soldiers from roadblocks back to active operations in forests and rural areas. Protecting farmers and restoring safe access to farmlands, he said, is now a top national priority. “A hungry man is an angry man,” Musa stated. “If we protect our farmers, we protect the nation itself.”
One of the most ambitious proposals to emerge from the screening is the creation of a single, unified national database linking every Nigerian’s NIN, BVN, SIM registration, passport, driver’s licence, and vehicle records. Musa described the current fragmented systems—spread across immigration, banks, telecoms, and other agencies—as a massive security loophole that allows terrorists, kidnappers, and cybercriminals to disappear simply by crossing state lines. A centralised database, he argued, would enable real-time tracking, instant freezing of criminal bank accounts, and an end to recruitment fraud in the armed forces, where more than 70,000 applicants apply yearly but many resist posting to conflict zones.
The minister’s hardline stance and detailed reform agenda dovetailed perfectly with sweeping national security resolutions adopted by the House of Representatives after a special three-day debate. Lawmakers demanded open and transparent prosecution of all terrorism-related cases, an end to secret plea bargains, and the classification of kidnapping as a terrorist offence punishable by death.
As General Musa formally assumes office, there is cautious optimism across the country that his combination of battlefield experience, zero-tolerance posture, and emphasis on intelligence, technology, and judicial reform could mark a turning point in Nigeria’s long war against insecurity. Citizens weary of daily reports of abductions and bloodshed are hoping that, at last, the political will and strategic clarity needed to confront the crisis head-on have finally arrived at the highest levels of government.
