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Minister of Defence exit: More ministers may ‘soon to go’
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The sudden resignation of the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, may signal further exits from the Federal Executive Council in the coming weeks.
Badaru’s exit on Monday has already intensified speculation about an imminent cabinet shake-up.
Although it is not for anyone to predetermine the President’s next move, strong indications suggest that more ministers could be eased out as the administration edges toward the 2027 election cycle.
Badaru’s resignation, conveyed in a letter dated December 1 and addressed to President Tinubu, brought an abrupt end to his tenure at a time when the nation is intensifying efforts to confront mounting security challenges.
He cited health concerns requiring urgent and sustained attention, confirming weeks of quiet speculation over his reduced public engagements.
President Tinubu has accepted Badaru’s resignation and expressed appreciation for his service, particularly his contributions to defence coordination and to ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening the security framework.
Reacting to the development, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed the resignation on his X handle.
Badaru’s tenure, grounded in his experience as a two-term governor, coincided with the administration’s renewed push to stabilise the country’s security landscape.
Presidency sources say a replacement will be announced in the coming days, with a nominee expected to be forwarded to the Senate before the end of the week.
Given the Defence Ministry’s centrality to the administration’s security priorities, the post is unlikely to remain vacant for long.
Insiders hint that Badaru’s departure may be the first in a series of quiet but strategic removals, reflecting a broader recalibration within the Tinubu administration.
Military analysts say Badaru’s resignation did not surprise close observers. What remains puzzling to some, however, is the length of time he stayed in office despite some missteps.
Within defence circles, there is growing sentiment that “it is time for President Tinubu to rejig the defence hierarchy by appointing a career military professional who commands the loyalty and confidence of the armed forces”, someone capable of deploying grounded operational experience to influence desired outcomes against insurgents and other violent groups.
Meanwhile, Monday’s high-level meeting between northern governors and traditional rulers has offered fresh insight into the gravity of insecurity across the region.
Their unanimous endorsement of state police marks a significant political shift, arguably the first time northern leaders have collectively backed a proposal that was once deeply divisive. The question now is: what changed?
Equally noteworthy is their call for a six-month suspension of mining activities, signalling a concession that illegal mining is intricately linked to worsening insecurity.
The northern leaders’ meeting adds yet another layer to the shifting political landscape. Their unified stand on state police, long a point of internal contention, signals a rare alignment among governors, religious authorities, and traditional institutions. More significant still is the emerging posture of collective northern assertiveness on national security matters.
In a communiqué issued after the meeting, the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council jointly called for the establishment of state police to address the deteriorating security situation and strengthen regional cooperation.
Signed by the NSGF Chairman and Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, the communiqué emerged from a joint session held at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House in Kaduna.
The meeting, which brought together governors of the 19 northern states and the chairmen of their respective traditional councils, commended northern leaders for their “steadfast commitment to the unity, security, stability, and development of the region.”
The Forum noted that northern Nigeria is at a critical moment and emphasised that overcoming current challenges would require “unity, peer review, and cooperation.”
The governors also reaffirmed their resolve to confront insecurity and other regional issues “with firmness and clarity” in fulfilment of their constitutional duties.
How the Presidency responds to these bold recommendations remains to be seen. Will these positions reshape national security policy, or further strain existing tensions within the government?
Badaru’s exit has revived longstanding concerns within the ruling party regarding performance benchmarks and loyalty expectations for ministers.
With the administration entering a more politically sensitive phase, insiders note that the Presidency may be preparing to quietly offload underperforming appointees while fortifying its inner circle ahead of a high-stakes 2027 contest.
The methodical, almost silent nature of these removals mirrors President Tinubu’s established political style: gradual, strategic, and calibrated to send subtle yet unmistakable signals across the political landscape.
Within government circles, anxiety is now palpable. Some ministers are scrambling to showcase “impact milestones,” while others appear resigned to the possibility of being quietly removed.
The Badaru episode, therefore, is not just a resignation; it may mark the opening act of a broader consolidation drive. Northern leaders’ calls for a suspension of mining, a N1 billion monthly regional security fund for each state, and expedited constitutional amendments suggest that regional power brokers are no longer waiting for Abuja to dictate the pace of reforms. Instead, they appear prepared to shape the national conversation and challenge the centre if necessary.
Taken together, these developments point to a shifting political terrain:
A Presidency quietly recalibrating its cabinet.
A northern bloc newly emboldened and unusually united.
A national security climate growing more volatile by the day.
How the Tinubu administration navigates these overlapping pressures, internal, regional, and electoral, will determine not only the fate of his ministers but also the trajectory of Nigeria’s broader security architecture.
The days ahead will test alliances, expose policy contradictions, and perhaps reveal deeper fissures within the governing structure.
Badaru, 63, served two terms as governor of Jigawa State before he was appointed Minister of Defence on August 21, 2023. During his tenure, he worked closely with the service chiefs on procurement, joint operations, and harmonisation of national security strategies.
His resignation comes at a sensitive moment, as President Tinubu recently declared a national security emergency amid escalating threats across several regions.
The President is expected to outline the scope and operational framework of the emergency measures in the coming days. (The Guardian, but headline rejigged)
News
Just in: Police finally handover 16-year-old Jennifer to parents after alleged forced conversion to Islam
The Bauchi State Police Command has released 16-year-old Jennifer Joseph, a Christian teenager from Adamawa State, to her parents following weeks of controversy over her custody and disputed religious identity.
Jennifer was released to her parents on Monday after extensive deliberations at the Bauchi State Police Command, SaharaReporters has learnt.
The development followed sustained public attention and extensive reporting by SaharaReporters on the circumstances surrounding the teenager, who became the centre of a dispute involving her parents, the Bishara Dole Christian Ministry and an Islamic Da’awah group in Bauchi.
Reverend Mohammed Mohammed of The Gospel of Christ Must Be Preach International Ministry, popularly known as Bishara Dole, confirmed Jennifer’s release to SaharaReporters on Tuesday.
Mohammed, however, disclosed that the police had detained Rev. Badamasi, a staff member of the Bishara Dole ministry, over an allegation that he molested Jennifer while transporting her from her family home in Adamawa State to the ministry in Bauchi.
He described the allegation as unfounded and “laughable,” while insisting that the matter should be investigated properly.
Jennifer’s release comes after a series of controversial developments that had left her parents stranded in Bauchi while seeking to regain custody of their daughter.
The latest development has now introduced another layer to the controversy following the detention of Rev. Badamasi.
According to Reverend Mohammed, the Bishara Dole staff member was detained over an allegation that he molested Jennifer while accompanying her from Adamawa to Bauchi in a commercial bus.
Mohammed rejected the allegation, describing it as “laughable” and insisting that the ministry would not be deterred by what he considered attempts to discredit its members.
SaharaReporters could not independently establish the circumstances surrounding Badamasi’s detention or the allegation against him.
The development is also significant because earlier reports had documented claims by Bishara Dole that allegations of child molestation had been made against the ministry as part of what Mohammed described as an attempt to discredit the Christian organisation.
The ministry had called for an independent investigation into all allegations rather than allowing competing religious interests to determine Jennifer’s custody.
With Jennifer now released to her parents, attention is expected to shift to the circumstances surrounding the teenager’s custody, the competing claims over her religious identity and the allegations that emerged during the dispute.
News
Just in: Police finally handover 16-year-old Jennifer to parents after alleged forced conversion to Islam
The Bauchi State Police Command has released 16-year-old Jennifer Joseph, a Christian teenager from Adamawa State, to her parents following weeks of controversy over her custody and disputed religious identity.
Jennifer was released to her parents on Monday after extensive deliberations at the Bauchi State Police Command, SaharaReporters has learnt.
The development followed sustained public attention and extensive reporting by SaharaReporters on the circumstances surrounding the teenager, who became the centre of a dispute involving her parents, the Bishara Dole Christian Ministry and an Islamic Da’awah group in Bauchi.
Reverend Mohammed Mohammed of The Gospel of Christ Must Be Preach International Ministry, popularly known as Bishara Dole, confirmed Jennifer’s release to SaharaReporters on Tuesday.
Mohammed, however, disclosed that the police had detained Rev. Badamasi, a staff member of the Bishara Dole ministry, over an allegation that he molested Jennifer while transporting her from her family home in Adamawa State to the ministry in Bauchi.
He described the allegation as unfounded and “laughable,” while insisting that the matter should be investigated properly.
Jennifer’s release comes after a series of controversial developments that had left her parents stranded in Bauchi while seeking to regain custody of their daughter.
The latest development has now introduced another layer to the controversy following the detention of Rev. Badamasi.
According to Reverend Mohammed, the Bishara Dole staff member was detained over an allegation that he molested Jennifer while accompanying her from Adamawa to Bauchi in a commercial bus.
Mohammed rejected the allegation, describing it as “laughable” and insisting that the ministry would not be deterred by what he considered attempts to discredit its members.
SaharaReporters could not independently establish the circumstances surrounding Badamasi’s detention or the allegation against him.
The development is also significant because earlier reports had documented claims by Bishara Dole that allegations of child molestation had been made against the ministry as part of what Mohammed described as an attempt to discredit the Christian organisation.
The ministry had called for an independent investigation into all allegations rather than allowing competing religious interests to determine Jennifer’s custody.
With Jennifer now released to her parents, attention is expected to shift to the circumstances surrounding the teenager’s custody, the competing claims over her religious identity and the allegations that emerged during the dispute.
. Tells global audience of experts how NDLEA uses asset recovery strategy in fight against drug trafficking
The Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), has told an international gathering of judges, law enforcement chiefs, financial intelligence experts and academics that the war against drug trafficking cannot be won by arrests alone, but must be matched by an equally aggressive pursuit of the proceeds of crime.
Marwa made this declaration while delivering a presentation titled “Criminal Property and the Criminal Process: How Can We Make It More Effective?” at the ongoing 43rd Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime, organised by the Centre for Geopolitics, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
According to him, the effectiveness of the criminal process should not be measured only by the number of convictions secured. It should also be measured by whether crime is made unprofitable. A trafficker who loses his liberty but retains his fortune has not truly been defeated. His wealth can finance another operation, support his associates and sustain the criminal enterprise.
“The ultimate objective must therefore be to deny criminals the proceeds of their crime, promptly, and lawfully while preserving the value of the property. Nigeria, through the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, will continue to strengthen this approach.”
Addressing the session chaired by the Honourable Judge Wendy Tien, the NDLEA boss said arresting a trafficker without dismantling his fortune was like “pruning a weed at the stem while leaving its roots undisturbed,” warning that such wealth simply resurfaces “under a different name, through a different front company, in a different jurisdiction.”
He outlined six practical strategies the NDLEA has deployed to strengthen asset recovery, anchored on the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act 2004, the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act 2022, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.
He cited the forfeiture of the Hook Hotel, a property linked to a fugitive drug suspect, which was recovered through non-conviction-based forfeiture and sold for $4.2 million, with proceeds paid into the Federal Government’s forfeited assets account domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria; proof, he said, that a fugitive “cannot simply outrun the process and retain the benefit of his crime.”
Marwa also disclosed that NDLEA investigators and prosecutors are now embedded together from the inception of cases, a reform that has shortened the interval between arrest and the securing of restraint orders. He revealed that last month alone, the Agency froze bank accounts worth over $7 million and secured interim forfeiture orders covering multibillion-naira assets, including filling stations, multi-storey buildings and exotic vehicles linked to a fugitive methamphetamine syndicate.
On the landmark case of Nigerian billionaire and suspected drug baron Amadi Simon, arrested in Switzerland through a joint operation involving NDLEA, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and authorities in Switzerland, Greece and France, Marwa explained that three hotels linked to the suspect were placed under professional asset managers rather than shut down, to preserve their value as going concerns pending the outcome of trial.
He further highlighted the Agency’s use of provisions on unexplained wealth and living beyond one’s legitimate means as a powerful investigative trigger, and the interlocutory sale of perishable and depreciating assets to protect their value ahead of final judgment.
He noted that these efforts have now been institutionalised within Nigeria’s National Drug Control Master Plan 2026–2030, ensuring that financial disruption of drug cartels remains a sustained national priority rather than a series of isolated cases.
Distilling these experiences into three guiding principles: speed over sequence, preservation of value, and institutionalization, Marwa acknowledged that challenges remain, particularly around delays in mutual legal assistance, limited forensic accounting capacity, and the need to balance the rights of accused persons with the State’s duty to preserve assets pending trial. He called for faster international cooperation mechanisms and stronger cross-border recognition of non-conviction-based forfeiture orders.
He thanked the Centre for Geopolitics, the organisers of the Symposium, and Judge Tien for the platform, and reaffirmed NDLEA’s readiness to deepen partnerships with jurisdictions and institutions committed to dismantling the financial architecture of drug trafficking.
Just in: Police finally handover 16-year-old Jennifer to parents after alleged forced conversion to Islam
Just in: Police finally handover 16-year-old Jennifer to parents after alleged forced conversion to Islam
To be defeated, drug barons must lose their wealth, Marwa declares at Cambridge
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