Ex-CDS Musa visits Tinubu as Irabor denies boko haram recruits in military
Former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa (retd.), paid an unscheduled visit to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa on Monday night, arriving at 7:03 p.m. dressed in dark-green northern-style attire. It was his first public meeting with the President since he left office on October 24.
His visit comes at a tense moment for the country, following Tinubu’s declaration of a nationwide security emergency. The President has rolled out sweeping measures, including the recruitment of 20,000 additional police officers, the deployment of forest guards and fresh protection for schools, churches and mosques in high-risk areas. Security agencies have also been ordered to conduct intensified joint operations across volatile zones in the North-West and North-Central.
The clampdown follows a horrific 13-day streak of coordinated attacks in which at least 490 people were abducted. They include 25 schoolgirls in Kebbi, 38 worshippers in Kwara, and more than 300 students and teachers taken from a Catholic school in Niger State, alongside monarchs, travellers and even a bride.
Musa, a member of the 38th Regular Course of the NDA, became CDS in June 2023 and was confirmed the following month. He served until the October reshuffle that elevated Lt. Gen. Olufemi Oluyede.
Meanwhile, another former CDS, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), has dismissed claims that repentant Boko Haram fighters are being quietly absorbed into the Nigerian Armed Forces. Appearing on Channels Television, Irabor described the allegation as “impossible” and said he had no idea where the rumour originated.
He detailed his long command career — from Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole to Force Commander of the Multinational Joint Task Force and later CDS — insisting that military recruitment processes make such infiltration unworkable. He stressed that local government clearance alone would prevent any ex-terrorist from slipping into the system.
Irabor also clarified that Operation Safe Corridor, the government’s deradicalisation programme for low-risk former militants, plays no role in military recruitment and does not return ex-combatants to armed service.
While acknowledging gaps in the nation’s security architecture, Irabor rejected claims that the military is to blame for current failings, urging more manpower, more equipment and a deeper grasp of emerging threats.