ABUJA: Nigeria’s defense minister has resigned, the presidency said, as the country reeled from a security crisis including mass kidnappings of schoolchildren.
The departure of Mohammed Badaru Abubakar came after President Bola Tinubu declared a “nationwide security emergency” last week as the country scrambled to respond to a wave of mass kidnappings that have seen hundreds of people, mostly schoolchildren, captured within days last month.
Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement that Abubakar, 63, was quitting with immediate effect, on health grounds.
“His resignation comes amid President Tinubu’s declaration of a national security emergency, with plans to elaborate on its scope in due course,” the spokesman said.
Africa’s most populous country has long experienced insecurity but the spate of abductions recently has left it scrambling.
