Former Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, has rejected claims that he resigned from President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet because of an alleged military threat to Nigeria by United States President Donald Trump. He described the viral reports linking his exit from office to U.S. pressure and talk of bombing terrorists in Nigerian forests as “false,” “malicious,” and the handiwork of “mischief makers” bent on damaging his reputation and creating tension between him and the President.
In a statement issued after the reports gained traction online, Badaru insisted that he never said he stepped down because he “could not stand and watch the U.S. and Tinubu government bombing our brothers in the forest,” a quote widely circulated on social media.
He stressed that neither he nor any authorised representative ever made such a remark, and that those pushing the narrative were deliberately misrepresenting his motives for leaving office.
According to him, the publication was “inaccurate, spiteful and aimed to misrepresent” his decision, as well as to stoke unnecessary controversy around sensitive national security issues.
Badaru maintained that the real reasons for his resignation had already been properly communicated to President Tinubu and made public through official and credible channels. Earlier reports on his exit from the Federal Executive Council indicated that he formally tendered his resignation in a letter dated December 1, citing personal and health-related grounds, which the President accepted while thanking him for his service.
Any alternative explanation suggesting he was forced out by foreign pressure or fell out with Tinubu over alleged U.S. military plans, he said, should be treated as “a complete falsehood engineered by mischief makers.”
The former minister also responded to speculation that his resignation was linked to purported U.S. conditions for security cooperation with Nigeria, including calls for the removal of key defence officials. He dismissed such claims as attempts to “spark needless controversy” and to portray him as opposing the President’s security agenda.
Badaru reaffirmed his loyalty to President Tinubu, expressed continued support for the All Progressives Congress (APC), and pledged commitment to Nigeria’s peace and stability ahead of the 2027 general elections. He urged Nigerians to ignore the viral reports and rely only on verified information from credible platforms regarding his departure from the Ministry of Defence.
