Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, has resigned his appointment with immediate effect, citing poor health as the reason for stepping down.
Badaru’s resignation was contained in a letter addressed to President Bola Tinubu and dated December 1. The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed the development on Monday.
According to the statement, President Tinubu has accepted the resignation and expressed gratitude for Badaru’s service to the nation. The President is expected to notify the Senate of a successor later this week.
The resignation comes at a sensitive time, as President Tinubu recently declared a national security emergency and is expected to provide more details on its scope in the coming days.
Badaru, a former two-term governor of Jigawa State (2015–2023), was appointed Minister of Defence on August 21, 2023. His tenure has faced public criticism, particularly following a BBC Hausa interview in which he said some terrorists could not be targeted because their forest hideouts were too dense for bombs to penetrate.