Defence minister denies resignation rumours, threatens legal action

The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), has dismissed reports claiming he had resigned from office, describing them as false and warning that those responsible would face legal action.

Musa spoke with journalists on Tuesday after a closed-door meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The minister, who arrived at the Villa at about 3 p.m. and left shortly after 4 p.m., said he was shocked by the reports and had never discussed resigning from his position.

“I am not going anywhere. I have never discussed this. I don’t even know who the person is that brought that information,” he said.

He added, “Whoever it is, we will take legal action against them. I am sure we will get them. He will come and explain who gave him such information.”

Musa described the rumours as an attempt to undermine public confidence in the Federal Government’s efforts to improve security across the country.

“We are surprised. I was shocked when I saw that. I don’t know where that came from. But you always expect that there will be people who will not be happy when things are going well,” he said.

“Security is improving, things are getting better, and for them, that is a sad point. They always want to make it look as if it is not so.”

The minister explained that his meeting with President Tinubu was a routine security briefing, adding that the President expressed satisfaction with the progress being made by the armed forces.

“I just came back from briefing Mr President on the current security situation, and he is very happy with us. We are going to continue doing well,” Musa said.

He also appealed to Nigerians to continue supporting security agencies, stressing that defeating terrorists and bandits requires collective effort.

“I want to seize this opportunity to appreciate Nigerians for all the support. The support has been massive. To defeat the terrorists and the bandits is a whole-of-society approach. Nigerians have keyed into it, and things are getting better, and they will continue to improve,” he said.

President Tinubu appointed Musa as Minister of Defence on December 2, 2025, after he served as Chief of Defence Staff from July 2023.