By Lateef Adegbite
The Nigeria security architecture managed by Badru Abubakar, a Brigadier General, rtd, and former minister of Defense, who incidentally was a former governor of Jigawa state during the Administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari would never be same again for the remaining one and half of years of President Bla Ahmed Tinubu’s stay in office. This is because of the change in the country’s security architecture.This is the resignation of the Jigawa state born former minister of defense.
Until his resignation of former minister Abubakar on December 2, 2025, did not come may as a surprise as there had been intense pressure on the Nigerian President , both within and outside the country, to sack minister Abubakar and Bello Matawalle, who incidentally was a former governor of Zamfara, described as home of Bandits and minister of state, defense. The norther American country of the United States, President Donald, had reportedly said that his country would not collaborate with the Nigerian Government unless the two political appointees were sacked because of their inability to deliver on their mandate.
PresidentTinubu had declared ‘security emergency across the country” that was said to given the Department of State Services, DSS, under the close watch of Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi, whose home state, Ekiti, is also having a test of the activities of the bandits-turned kidnappers, to immediately deploy ‘’all the forest guards already trained to flush out the criminal elements, may not have gone down with the ministers and some other top government officials who believes it was targeted at them.
An insider had confirmed that the DSS, Operatives had targeted theBoko Haram, the Islamic State of West African Province, Mahmuda, Jamaa ‘a ul al-Islam wal-Musilimin, JNIM, which had metamorphosed into the Bandits, Ansaru, Lakarawa, Mahmuda Groups operating in different pats of the north western region of Nigeria, which Political Observers believes may have facilitated his resignation of former minister Abubakar from President’s Government.
Although, the Nigerian Government may not have come out with a plausible reason to why the former Jigawa state governor resigned as Tinubu’s minister of defense but security experts had said that it might not be unconnected with the heightened Kidnapping incidents in in different parts of the country.
The high level of insecurity in the country in the recent time appears to be more pronounced in Kebbi, kogi, home state of Waidi Shaibu, a Lt. General, and the incumbent Chief of Army Staff, CoAS, under President Bola Ahmed Administration, Niger, home state of Ibrahim Babangida, an Army General, rtd and former Nigerian military President which made the international Community to make a mockery of Nigeria.
Take for instance, President Trump, of the US, had given his words to send Troops to Nigeria, to flush out the terrorists in Borno, Yobe and the Bandits operating in the north western states of Zamfara, home state of Bello Matawalle, minister of State Defense, and the north central states of Benue, Plateau, and Kogi , where Bandits dares the new CoAS, to draw him out to deploy Troops to the state for open confrontation.
The north eastern state of Borno, where an Army Brig. Gen. Uba Musa, who was said to have led a routine Patrol Team to secure Communities around Wajiroko in Damboa Local Area of Borno state, home state of Lt. Gen. Yusuf Brutai, a former CoAS,, during deceased former President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration but was ambushed and killed which the Nigerian President did not find funny and ready to sacrifice any political appointee who may not have done his or her job as expected to restore sanity in the country.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President, Information and Strategy, may have made Nigerians to believe that the former minister of defense had resigned his appoint which took immediate effect on Monday, December 1, 2025, on ‘’health grounds’’, which begs the question. The Media Aide, who did not provide much explanation for the former minister, who, many believes had maintained a low profile in the Tinubu’s Administration despite occupying the sensitive position, giving room for Matawalle, the junior minister in the ministry, who incidentally was a former governor of Zamfara state was doing much of the job.
The only information President Tinubu, Media Aide, could officer to the Nigeria public and the international Community, was that the former minister said he was ‘’quitting on health grounds’’, which was said to have been quickly accepted by the Nigerian President who had been under intense pressure, both within and outside, Nigeria, to do everything within his powers to flush out the criminal elements terrorizing Nigeria. However, the former minister had reportedly said that he could not ”sit by and watch the US , fighter Pilots and soldiers and Tinubu, kill ”our brothers”referring to the terrorists and bandits in the Nigerian forests.
President Tinubu, may have read the handwriting the wall that the former minister was a sympathizer to the terrorists and bandits and thus did not have waste much time in getting a replacement for him, in the person of General Christopher Gwabin Musa, the immediate CoAS and an indigene of Kaduna state, which had been a hotbed of the Bandits Group operations over the years.
President Tinubu, may have developed much confidence on the former Chief of Defense Staff, CDS,, appointed by him at the beginning of the new Administration in mid- 2023, until his retirement last October, that he could effectively oversee the ministry of defense and further strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture with little or minimal supervision because of the way he managed the affairs of the Nigerian Army under his leadership that he had won Collin Powell award for soldiering in 2012.
Former Service Chief, may have exhibited his Leadership skill to deliver on his mandate when he was appointed Theatre Commander of the Borno stated based Operation Hadin Kai by deceased former President Buhari, to contain the spread of terrorism n the region and was subsequently appointed CDS, by Tinubu, in 2023, a position, he held until his exit from the Service, in October, 2025, on forced retirement by the President.
He may have won the heart of President Tinubu when he said to his hearing that ‘’even in retirement, my commitment to Nigeria remains unshaken’’ as he had vowed ‘’to continue to support the nation’s armed Forces to contribute to peace unity and development even after leaving the Service’’. He has opportunity to do what he said as the new minister of defense and further keep to his words that that ‘’Nigeria must take full responsibility for ending its security challenges, instead of waiting on the foreign countries, particular, the US, ‘’the US, the Asian country of China, Russia, currently at war , with neighbouring Ukraine or the United Nations UN, to step into the Nigeria crisis situation to help and solve it as the country’s current Leader has improved incompetent of doing it without foreign support.
Muhammadu Sa’adu Abubakar, III, Sultan of Sokoto and other traditional rulers including the governors of the 19 northern states, comprising those of the seven northern states, six northern States and the six north central state governors appears to have suddenly have realized that the root cause of the security challenges in the region was the illegal mining of gold, lithium, and uranium, by Nigerians and their foreign collaborators who funds and supply the guns to the terrorists and Bandits group to protect the routes used for the evacuation of the illegally mined mineral resources and rare earth element to the international market .
It was not surprising why they have taken a bold decision when they recently met in Kaduna, to deliberate on how to fight against terrorism and banditry across the 19 northern states. The northern Leaders, who are determined to end terrorism and banditry in the region were said to have set up a monthly thrust Fund of N1bn for the regional intervention , urging President Tinubu, to set the necessary machinery in motion to suspend mining activities, for the next months in the region, as they were said to have blamed the illegal mining sites for the heightened terrorism and banditry activities in the country in the recent time.
The norther Leaders views had corroborated what Gen. Musa, the immediate past CDS, under the Current Tinubu’s Administration had said, until his elevation to the ministerial position to oversee the affairs of the ministry of defense, following the resignation of former minister Abubakar, that ‘’the activities of the illegal miners was fueling insecurity in Nigeria, particular, in the north east and north western regions of the country. Even Abbas Tajudeen, Speaker of House of House Representatives had confirmed that ‘’80% of the insecurity in the north eastern and north western regions are caused by the illegal miners who wants to protect their business empire by sponsoring the terrorists Organisations and bandits’ groups to carry out their nefarious activities. The duo was said to have unbared their minds on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at the opening of an investigative hearing into the activities of the illegal miners by the House Committee on Solid Minerals, which the Speaker had said had ‘’destroyed the country’s ecosystem’’.
Confronted by a surge in the killings, abductions and illegal mining activities in the region, the northern Leaders were said to have mounted an unprecedented joint response, backing state police, imposing mining suspensions, insisting that ‘’coordinated, decisive measures are now essential to salvage the region’s security and stability’’.
Security Analysts believes that the northern Traditional rulers, governors and the House Committee on solid Minerals has given to Gen. Musa, the new minister of defense, the necessary working tools ‘’to go after the illegal miners , who are mostly the Chinese and retired army Generals t force them out of the illegal mining business, which Delel Alake, minister of Solid Minerals Development had caused the Nigerian Government a whopping loss of the US, over $9 billion annually.
They may have not have supported Seikh Gumi, a Clergy man, who had continuously canvassed that the government should give the terrorists and bandits what they demand and even accommodate them in the country’s yearly budgetary allocations because ‘’they are our children, brothers and sisters, leaving in the forest, to make a living because of the military aggression against them.
The norther Leaders were said to have rejected outrightly ‘’granting amnesty to the so called repentant BokoHaram, ISWAP, ANSARU, MAHMUDA, LAKARAWA and JNIM, fighters, just as they were said to have also rejected payment of compensation to the criminal elements, to avoid raising another group of monsters in future.
