Defence Minister, Badaru Resigns Amidst Insecurity Imbroglio

Lagosspy NG recalled that Badaru made a recent remark where he highlighted that bandits are hiding in the thick forests and bombs cannot reach them.

The Nigeria’s defence minister, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, has resigned his appointment, with immediate effect.

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President, Information and Strategy, in a press release on December 1, announced that a letter dated December 1, was sent to President Bola Tinubu, citing that Defence Minister Abubakar said he was quitting on health grounds.

President Tinubu has accepted the resignation and thanked Abubakar for his services to the nation.

President Tinubu will likely inform the Senate of Badaru’s successor later this week.

Badaru Abubakar, 63, was a two-term governor of Jigawa state from 2015 to 2023. He was appointed as a minister on August 21, 2023, by President Tinubu.

His resignation comes amid President Tinubu’s declaration of a national security emergency, with plans to elaborate on its scope in due course.

Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru Abubakar has said that bandits and terrorists are hiding in the forests to avoid bombs.

The minister stated this in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, which was monitored in Gusau, the capital of Zamfara State.

He highlighted the dangers of bombing bandits’ hideouts, noting that military operatives are close to ending banditry in the country, even amid recent school kidnappings.

Badaru pointed out that the pattern of attacks resembles guerrilla tactics. Criminal groups strike unexpectedly to create fear.

“This is how guerrilla warfare operates. There are calm times followed by attacks that alarm the nation,” the minister added.

He said that they know the locations of these groups, but some areas are risky for civilians, noting that some forests are inaccessible to bombs.

“We never claimed the problem was fully resolved. However, the recent kidnappings of schoolchildren concern us. We are analysing what went wrong and how to avoid it in the future.”