After a Rigorous Screening Session, Senate Confirms Ex-CDS Musa as Defence Minister

*Tells him to end kidnapping, banditry

*Trump is on our neck, says Akpabio

*Ndume seeks first line charge for military

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, as Minister of Defence after a rigorous screening session that lasted about three hours.

Lawmakers during the screening session demanded clear assurances that he can halt the country’s worsening insecurity, rescue abducted schoolchildren, and address critical failings within the military hierarchy.

Presiding over the Committee of the Whole, Senate President Godswill Akpabio described Musa’s nomination as “the most widely accepted ministerial appointment in recent times.”

He cited his operational record, humility, and responsiveness as CDS.

Nevertheless, senators insisted that the gravity of Nigeria’s security crisis required robust interrogation.

The federal lawmakers vehemently rejected a motion by Senator Sani Musa of Niger East to allow Musa to take a bow and go since he had earlier been screened in the past as CDS and that most questions might make him reveal operational strategies.

The reactions from senators to Sani Musa’s suggestion led to a rowdy session which forced the Senate President to rule him out of order.

The lawmakers rejected the routine “bow-and-go” citing the case of over 200 schoolchildren still held captive and a senior military officer, Brigadier General Uba, missing after being abducted by terrorists.

From the outset, General Musa warned that the threats confronting the country were “evil, coordinated forces” that could only be defeated through unity, collaboration, and a whole-of-society approach.

He emphasised that Nigeria’s security challenges were no longer purely military in nature and demanded equal commitment from state governments, security agencies, and citizens.

He assured Nigerians that more military personnel would be drafted to areas currently being terrorized by bandits by ensuring the removal of soldiers from check points.

He said, “It is the role of the police to man checkpoints. We would draft soldiers to areas under the siege of terrorists.

“The enemies we are dealing with are evil forces who do not mean this country well.

“If we do not work together, we will continue giving them the space to perpetrate their acts. Nigeria can win this war, but we must be deliberate, united, and determined.”

He cautioned that instability across the Sahel, particularly Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, posed direct risks to Nigeria if its borders were not secured and if regional coordination failed.

“Whatever happens in the Sahel eventually finds its way to Nigeria, because terrorists believe this country is the ultimate prize,” he warned.

However, senators pressed beyond broad strategy.

They demanded immediate answers on recent operational breaches, including the attack on a Borno school where soldiers reportedly withdrew shortly before kidnappers stormed the premises, as well as the abduction of Brigadier General Uba, whom terrorists filmed in captivity.

A visibly concerned Senator Akpabio insisted that Nigerians deserved explanations from the ministerial nominee.

He said, “The man standing in front of us could be regarded as the current solution to the security in the country and we’re not here on our own.

“We’re here to represent our constituents and our constituents will like to hear from him whether his appointment will enable them to sleep well , whether their children will be safe in school, so, we’re not asking him questions because we don’t like him, we’re asking him question our constituents would have loved to ask him at a time like this.

“So, if we come here and we do politics of bow and go, this is not a period we should say bow and go.

“Even Donald Trump is on our neck, we have not yet ask him what his response would be to Donald Trump, the president of America, he’s just not anybody, he was the Chief of Defence Staff and now a minister of defence of a country and you stand up to say he should take a bow and go with so many questions on the mouth of Nigerians. With over 200 Nigerian children in the bush, kidnapped and being torture.

“His appointment is ranking all over Nigeria with happiness because Nigerians believe he has something to offer. Give the man an opportunity, to give Nigerians hope.

“When you ask him to take a bow and go, where are the children? Where is Brigadier General Uba?” he asked. “Nigerians want to hear what you will do. We cannot treat this moment like a routine ceremony.”

Responding, Musa described both incidents of students’ kidnap and General Uba’s murder as “unacceptable and painful,” vowing thorough investigation and accountability.

He said, “I wonder how a brigade commander was alone without his troops. There are questions that must be answered. No act of indolence or cowardice will be tolerated. Anyone found culpable, whether in the Uba incident or the school attack, will face the law.”

He added that he would immediately review all ongoing operations, assess troop conduct and command structures, and return to the Senate with a detailed list of needs to enhance operational capacity.

Senators also confronted Musa with long-standing concerns over inadequate equipment, obsolete weapons, and sluggish adoption of modern technology.

They said the issues had allowed armed groups to operate with superior firepower in several regions.

“Why are our troops confronting terrorists with AK-47s while bandits carry sophisticated weapons?” one senator queried.

Musa agreed that the issue was real and said technological investment must be prioritised.

He said, “We must invest in surveillance systems, communication, intelligence, and advanced weapons. You cannot fight 21st-century threats with outdated tools.”

Former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, urged General Musa, to champion the placement of the Nigerian Army on First Line Charge to guarantee timely and uninterrupted release of funds.

Ndume said placing the military under statutory transfers, like INEC, the National Assembly, UBEC and NDDC, would eliminate bureaucratic delays that often frustrate rapid procurement of arms, ammunition and other operational needs.

Ndume, a former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army and a long-time advocate for improved military welfare, said General Musa must convince President Bola Tinubu that the security architecture requires predictable and automatic funding.

According to him, delayed release of capital funds directly undermines military operations across theatres.

He stressed that security remains the primary constitutional duty of government and must not suffer from administrative bottlenecks.

Ndume also urged Musa to prioritise the welfare of troops, noting that Nigerian soldiers are not among the best paid in West Africa despite their sacrifices. He called for urgent reforms that would reflect the nation’s appreciation for the Armed Forces.

Former Senate President Ahmad Lawan reinforced the point, saying the armed forces could not continue operating “with bare hands against fire.”

He urged “massive, sustained funding” in the 2026 budget.

Throughout the screening, lawmakers praised Musa’s role in stabilising parts of the North-East, including Monguno, from which residents particularly Senator Tahir Monguno had fled for over a decade until military operations made the area safe again.

Akpabio used the moment to push back against narratives that nothing was improving.

“People talk as if nothing is working,” he said. “But here is someone who can now sleep in his hometown after 15 years.”

“We want you to succeed,” Akpabio told him. “That is why we are giving you a legal environment that serves as a deterrent.”

Musa assured the Senate that he would run a Defence Ministry driven by accountability, inter-agency cooperation, regional diplomacy, and community involvement.

He said, “The armed forces cannot solve all the problems. Security is localised. Communities must be empowered as first responders. Governors must work together. Service chiefs, the CDS, and the ministry must operate seamlessly.”

He promised that any lapses in command, intelligence failures, or deliberate sabotage would be uncovered and punished.

Musa said, “Nigerians deserve to sleep with their two eyes closed. From day one, we will review everything. We will not allow terrorists the space to operate.”

After nearly three hours of questioning, Akpabio signalled the Senate’s satisfaction with Musa’s responses. A final confirmation vote followed and majority of the senators approved his nomination.