Senate Confirms Gen. Christopher Musa As Nigeria’s New Defence Minister After Grueling Five-Hour Screening

Abuja, Nigeria – The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, as the country’s new Minister of Defence, following a rigorous five-hour screening by lawmakers.

During the screening, Gen. Musa faced intense questioning on matters ranging from national security strategy to military reforms and counter-terrorism efforts.

Lawmakers probed his plans for addressing persistent security challenges across Nigeria, including insurgency in the Northeast, banditry in the Northwest, and growing militia activities in other parts of the country.

According to him, “I believe that the challenges we are facing is a Nigerian challenge, not only for the armed forces or security forces, but for everyone working together.

“I want to assure you, we will win working together as a team. Even when I was CDS, I tried to harmonise all the teams and service chiefs.

“There are a lot of gaps and constitutional lacuna that are affecting operations. We will follow up to make sure everyone is on board.”

He also advocated for the establishment of a comprehensive and unified database in Nigeria to support security agencies in their operations.

Musa urged proactive involvement from local and sub-national governments, as well as the Nigerian legal system, in tackling insecurity.

He further called for a complete halt to ransom payments to kidnappers, bandits, and terrorists in the country

“There should be no negotiation with criminals. If you negotiate with them, they will never abide by it. They use the money to buy more arms,” he said.

The former defence chief emphasized that future recruitment into the armed forces will be conducted with greater rigor.

Addressing claims of a Christian genocide in the country, Musa stated that terrorism affects all Nigerians, regardless of faith.

“We are all victims; everybody is being killed,” he said.

“We must stop the killings. Nigerians should not be killed. We must unite. These are evil people who are on drugs, they kill everyone, they don’t know who is who.”

Meanwhile, Senate President Godswill Akpabio praised Musa for taking the time to respond to all the questions posed.

“I have not seen any nominee who have answered all questions since 1999.“We want to urge you to visit the defence industries as soon as you take over.”