Nigeria’s Defence Minister, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, has resigned from office with immediate effect in a development that has added fresh uncertainty to a nation battling an escalating wave of kidnappings.

In a letter dated Monday, December 1, 2025, and addressed to President Bola Tinubu, the former Jigawa State governor said he was stepping down for health reasons. Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed that Tinubu has accepted the resignation and thanked Badaru for his service, adding that the President is expected to notify the Senate of a replacement later this week.

Badaru, 63, who served as governor between 2015 and 2023 before his appointment as minister on August 21, 2023, is leaving at a time when Nigeria’s security architecture is under intense pressure. Although his resignation was officially linked to health concerns, its timing is noteworthy: it comes amid a rocky period marked by nationwide security failures that have prompted President Tinubu to declare a national security emergency and interest from the United States (US) Government.

In the past two weeks alone, Nigeria has witnessed some of its most brazen abduction incidents in recent memory.

On November 21, gunmen stormed St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, seizing 303 students and 12 staff members in a mass kidnapping that revived painful memories of Chibok and Kagara. While around 50 of the children managed to escape, more than 250 students and staff remain in captivity nearly two weeks after the attack, with military search operations stretching across dense forest corridors.

Just three days later, on November 24, armed men invaded Isapa community near Eruku in Kwara State, kidnapping at least 11 residents, including a pregnant woman, nursing mothers and young children. Those victims also remain unfreed, deepening anxiety among residents in the North Central region.

Earlier, on November 17, 25 schoolgirls were abducted from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, while the school’s vice principal was shot dead. One student escaped shortly after, and the remaining 24 were eventually rescued, but the incident formed part of a wider pattern of coordinated attacks.

Across several northern states — from Niger to Kebbi, Kwara and parts of Borno — gunmen have staged simultaneous raids on schools, farms, churches and homes. Security reports suggest that nearly 500 people were abducted nationwide within a two-week span. Though some victims have been freed under opaque circumstances, many communities remain on edge as armed groups continue to exploit weak rural security and long-standing intelligence gaps.

Meanwhile, Abubakar’s resignation follows a meeting between Tinubu and Christopher Musa, a former chief of defence staff (CDS) whom the President fired and retired in October following rumours of a military coup plot, at the State House earlier on Monday evening.

The meeting may be a precursor to a major shake-up by the President in the wake of growing insecurity in the country.