Amidst heightened insecurity in the country, Nigeria’s defence minister, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, has resigned.

This was disclosed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy in a statement.

Onanuga said the resignation was contained in a letter dated December 1 and sent to President Bola Tinubu.

In the letter, Abubakar said he was quitting on “health grounds.”

The Presidential spokesman said President Tinubu has accepted the resignation and thanked Abubakar for his services to the nation.

President Tinubu will likely inform the Senate of Badaru’s successor later this week.

Badaru Abubakar, 63, served as governor of Jigawa state from 2015 to 2023. He was appointed as a minister on August 21, 2023, by President Tinubu.

His resignation comes amid President Tinubu’s declaration of a national security emergency, with plans to elaborate on its scope in due course.

 

Defence Minister’s resignation is coming following a behind a behind the closed door meeting between Christopher Musa, the immediate past chief of defence staff (CDS), and President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja on Monday.

The meeting was said to be a precursor to a major shake-up by Tinubu in the wake of growing insecurity in the country.

Musa arrived at the State House at about 7:03 p.m. and was led into the president’s office by a senior security official.

The meeting, held behind closed doors, marked the former CDS’ first encounter with Tinubu since his retirement on October 24.

The agenda of the meeting was not made public at the time of filing this report.

But sources said the discussion was connected to the worsening security situation in northern Nigeria, including the abduction of schoolgirls in Kebbi, the attack on worshippers in Eruku, Kwara, and the kidnapping of students at a Catholic school in Minna, Niger state.