Insecurity: Gen. Musa Briefs Tinubu, Irabor Rules Out Terrorist Integration into Army
Former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa (retd.), on Monday visited President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The visit occurred concurrently with a statement from another former CDS, General Lucky Irabor (retd.), who dismissed claims that repentant Boko Haram members are being recruited into the Nigerian Armed Forces.
General Musa arrived at the State House at 7:03 p.m., dressed in dark-green traditional attire, and was led into the President’s office wing by a senior security official. This marked his first public meeting with the President since his retirement on October 24, 2025.
While the specific agenda of the meeting was not immediately made public, it comes amidst heightened national security concerns following a surge in kidnappings and banditry across the North-West and North-Central regions.
Recent incidents include the abduction of schoolgirls in Kebbi and worshippers in Kwara, prompting President Tinubu to declare a nationwide security emergency.
Meanwhile, General Lucky Irabor, speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, strongly refuted allegations that the military is absorbing “repentant” terrorists.
“It has always been a burden for me where we got this impression from. How can they be recruited? This does not exist,” Irabor stated.
Drawing from his experience as Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole and later as CDS, Irabor explained that the military’s recruitment process involves rigorous checks, including local government verification, which would flag any individual with a terrorist background.
“It is impossible. Besides, you can’t come into the military if those in your local government have not actually sanctioned you,” he added.
He clarified that Operation Safe Corridor focuses on the deradicalisation and reintegration of low-risk ex-combatants into civilian society, not their enlistment into the armed forces.
