President Bola Tinubu faces growing pressure to remove Bello Matawalle as Minister of State for Defence following the resignation of Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar as Nigeria’s Defence Minister.

SaharaReporters reports that the United States has requested the removal of both Badaru Abubakar and Matawalle before engaging in any collaboration with Nigeria on combating terrorism and banditry.

Badaru Abubakar, 63, a former two-term governor of Jigawa State, resigned citing health reasons in a letter dated December 1. President Tinubu has accepted his resignation and is set to appoint former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, as his successor. Musa met with Tinubu at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, marking his first public engagement with the President since being retired on October 24, 2025.

A top government source told SaharaReporters: “There is pressure on Tinubu to remove Matawalle as well. The U.S. insisted that Badaru and Matawalle be replaced before any cooperation with Nigeria could proceed.”

The reshuffle comes amid heightened scrutiny after the U.S. redesignated Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ (CPC) over alleged widespread persecution of Christians. The designation cites “particularly severe violations of religious freedom” and alleges mass killings of Christians by extremist groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP.

Nigeria dispatched a high-level delegation led by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu to Washington to negotiate collaboration on addressing insecurity and religious freedom concerns. Nigerian officials, including President Tinubu, rejected claims of genocide, insisting that the CPC designation misrepresents the country’s situation.