Nigeria’s newly nominated Defence Minister, General Christopher Musa (retd.), has been confirmed by the Senate after a rigorous five-hour screening, during which he delivered one of the most sweeping national security policy blueprints seen in recent years.
Musa, a former Chief of Defence Staff, outlined an aggressive, tech-driven and zero-tolerance approach to terrorism, banditry and kidnapping — declaring that Nigeria must never again negotiate or pay ransoms to violent groups.
“There is no negotiation with any criminal,” Musa declares
Speaking before lawmakers, the new Defence Minister said ransom payments only embolden terrorists, allowing them to regroup, re-arm and expand their networks, noting that even communities that negotiated “still got attacked later.”
“There is no negotiation with any criminal.
Ransom empowers terrorists.
We must stop financing the very people attacking us,”
he said.
He argued that ransom payments can be monitored digitally and insisted that Nigeria’s financial system has the capacity to trace terror-linked money — if properly integrated.
Unified National Database: “We cannot win this war blind”
In one of the most consequential parts of his presentation, Musa warned that Nigeria’s security architecture is fundamentally weakened by fragmented data systems across immigration, banking, NIMC, security agencies and border control.
“Something as simple as a unified database for all citizens is urgently needed.
Not one database for immigration, another for quarantine, another for banks,”
he said.
He called for:
- national biometric integration
- real-time security–banking linkage
- digital tracking of suspects and fugitives
- automated flagging of suspicious transactions
- a central crime registry
Musa said other countries can deactivate a criminal’s bank account “within seconds,” insisting Nigeria must eliminate data silos to track terrorists, kidnap financiers and cross-border offenders.
“Kinetic efforts alone cannot win this war” — Musa
The Minister-designate stressed that the military represents only 25–30% of the counter-insurgency effort.
He identified the real drivers of insecurity as:
- poverty
- illiteracy
- weak local governance
- unregulated mining
- porous borders
- slow justice system
He urged state and local governments to take responsibility for community-level intelligence and early warning systems.
Illegal Mining, Maritime Crime and Cultism: Rising Threat Zones
Musa warned that coastal crime routes from Akwa Ibom to Cameroon were reactivating, with pirates and sea robbers staging fresh kidnappings.
He described illegal mining as one of the largest funding pipelines for armed groups and backed the Northern Governors’ decision to suspend mining for six months.
Operation Delta Safe, he added, had been expanded to new infiltration corridors.
Military Checkpoints to Reduce Nationwide
Musa said soldiers will gradually be pulled from routine checkpoints to focus on operational missions in forests, border zones and ungoverned spaces.
The priority, he said, is to reopen farmlands so agriculture — and national food security — can recover.
“A hungry man is an angry man.
Protecting farmers means protecting the nation.”
70,000 Apply to Join the Military — But Many Refuse Deployment
Musa confirmed that the armed forces receive tens of thousands of applications annually, but many recruits later refuse deployment to high-risk theatres.
A unified database, he said, would help verify identities, screen applicants, and eliminate fraudulent enlistments.
Broader Legislative Movements: Death Penalty for Kidnappers
The Defence Minister’s screening coincided with a major move by the Senate to classify kidnapping as terrorism and approve the death penalty for:
- kidnappers
- ransom negotiators
- financiers
- informants
- logistics providers
- harbourers
- transporters
Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the law will tighten Nigeria’s counter-terrorism framework.
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House of Reps Demands Transparent Terrorism Trials
The House of Representatives also closed a three-day national security session, recommending:
- open terrorism trials
- special terrorism courts
- accelerated hearings
- strengthened cashless systems
- joint intelligence fusion centres
- expanded border surveillance
- reduction of VIP security details
- accelerated recruitment into security agencies
- public naming of terrorism financiers
Human rights lawyers, however, warned that witness safety must be prioritised, even in open trial settings.
A Defence Minister Under Fierce Expectations
General Musa acknowledged the massive public expectations on his shoulders:
“I cannot afford to fail my nation or my family.
Nigerians want peace — and we must deliver it.”
His confirmation comes amid nationwide kidnappings, mass abductions, farmer displacement, coastal piracy, illegal mining and renewed pressure from the US and international partners.
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