Chaos broke out in the Senate on Wednesday after lawmakers fiercely disagreed over whether Defence Minister–designate, General Christopher Musa (rtd.), should be grilled on Nigeria’s spiralling insecurity or “take a bow and go.”
Gen. Musa, a former Chief of Defence Staff, appeared for screening shortly after 2 p.m., accompanied by presidential advisers and retired top officers. Senate President Godswill Akpabio welcomed him and urged him to help confront the nation’s deepening security crisis.
A dramatic moment unfolded when Senator Sani Musa suggested the nominee should be allowed to “take a bow and go,” but Senate President Godswill Akpabio sharply rejected the proposal.
His motion triggered the uproar when he asked the chamber to skip questioning entirely, arguing that the nominee had already been scrutinised in 2023.
Dozens of senators immediately backed the motion, chanting, “Let him take a bow and go!” Others shouted back in protest, insisting the nominee must answer hard questions. The chamber quickly dissolved into a shouting match as senators crowded around the presiding officer.
But the Senate President rejected the calls for ‘Bow and Go’. “Where are the children? How can he take a bow and go? Where is Brigadier General Uba? Where are the children kidnapped while soldiers withdrew? Nigerians want answers,” Akpabio said.
The chamber roared in approval as Akpabio insisted the nominee address pressing national security failures.
A visibly irritated Akpabio rose from his seat to restore order and invoked Order 52. He rejected attempts to shield the nominee from scrutiny.
“If he takes a bow and goes, how will General Uba be found? How will the children in the forest be found?” he asked pointedly.
He warned senators against politicising the process and ruled that Gen. Musa must respond to all questions related to insecurity, directing lawmakers to proceed with the interrogation.
Akpabio also revealed that the Senate has begun designating kidnapping as a terrorist act, carrying the death penalty without an option of fine, specifically to strengthen the incoming minister’s legal arsenal.
