Mounting diplomatic pressure is closing in on President Bola Tinubu as top government insiders reveal that the United States is insisting on the removal of Bello Matawalle before it proceeds with any new security cooperation with Nigeria. This comes just hours after the resignation of Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who stepped down on health grounds.
According to senior officials who spoke with Chronicle Reporters, Washington made it clear that both Badaru and Matawalle must be replaced as part of conditions for enhanced counterterrorism collaboration. “There is pressure on Tinubu to remove Matawalle as well,” a top source confirmed. “The US insisted that cooperation would only move forward if both ministers were out.”
On Monday evening, news broke that former Chief of Defence Staff Christopher Musa is poised to succeed Badaru after meeting with President Tinubu at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa—his first appearance there since being retired on October 24, 2025. Government insiders say Tinubu informed Musa directly of the plan to appoint him as the new Defence Minister.
Badaru’s resignation was formally disclosed in a December 1 letter, according to Bayo Onanuga, who noted that the President had accepted the minister’s exit and would soon notify the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of his replacement.
The unfolding shake-up comes amid renewed diplomatic friction between Abuja and Washington following the US redesignation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern”—a classification triggered by allegations of widespread Christian persecution. Nigeria responded by dispatching a delegation led by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu to engage US officials in Washington.
American authorities and advocacy groups have cited “severe violations of religious freedom,” alleging mass killings of Christians by extremist groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP, with some activists framing the crisis as genocide. Nigerian officials, including President Tinubu, have firmly rejected this characterization, arguing that it distorts the broader security realities affecting citizens of all religions.
As diplomatic tensions sharpen, pressure is now building on the presidency to determine whether Matawalle will remain in office—or become the next casualty of a defence sector overhaul closely watched by Washington.