Tinubu Faces Rising Pressure to Sack Matawalle as US Links Cooperation to Cabinet Changes

An exclusive report from Sahara Reporters indicates that pressure is intensifying on President Bola Tinubu to dismiss Minister of State for Defence Bello Matawalle following the resignation of Minister of Defence Mohammed Badaru Abubakar. According to senior government insiders, the United States has reportedly conditioned any security collaboration with Nigeria on the removal of both officials, insisting they be replaced before discussions on counterterrorism and anti-banditry cooperation can move forward.

Badaru’s resignation became public on Monday evening, shortly after he met with President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. It was his first appearance before the President since his retirement from service on October 24. During the meeting, sources said Tinubu informed former Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa that he would take over the defence portfolio. A letter dated December 1 conveyed Badaru’s decision to step down on health grounds, a development confirmed by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, who added that Tinubu had accepted the resignation and expressed gratitude for Badaru’s service. The President is expected to notify the Senate of his preferred replacement later in the week.

Badaru, 63, a former two-term governor of Jigawa State, had been serving in the federal cabinet since August 2023. His exit comes at a sensitive moment in Nigeria’s engagement with Washington. The U.S. recently redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern over what it described as grave violations of religious freedom, citing killings of Christians by extremist groups including Boko Haram and ISWAP. Advocacy organisations have claimed Nigeria records more Christian fatalities from targeted violence than any other country, framing the crisis as genocidal.

In response, Nigeria sent a high-level delegation led by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu to Washington, where both governments agreed to set up joint mechanisms aimed at tackling insecurity and addressing religious freedom concerns. Nigerian officials, including President Bola Tinubu, have rejected claims of genocide, arguing that such descriptions distort the country’s complex security realities.