Nigeria's president names former general as defence minister

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday nominated former top military commander General Christopher Musa as new minister of defence as the country grapples with a wave of mass kidnappings.

Musa had been serving as chief of defence staff until October, when Tinubu sacked a slew of the country's top military brass following media reports of a coup attempt.

The ruling administration officially denied the reports of a coup plot.

Weeks later, the West African country was hit by a wave of mass kidnappings, including of hundreds of schoolchildren.

On Monday, Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru Abubakar resigned, citing health reasons.

Needs approval from Senate

The Defence Minister-nominee, Musa, will need to be confirmed by the Senate to take up his new post.

In a letter to the Senate, Tinubu "expressed confidence in General Musa's ability to lead the Ministry of Defence and further strengthen Nigeria's security architecture," according to a statement from the presidency.

In November, the mass abductions in Nigeria saw schoolchildren and teachers, worshippers and priests, a bride and her bridesmaids, farmers, women and children taken hostage.

In the largest attack, armed gangs kidnapped more than 300 teachers and staff at St. Mary's co-education school in north-central Nigeria on November 21. Fifty escaped, but the rest remain in captivity.

On Monday, Nigerian authorities promised the pupils would be home "soon".