Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (Rtd), has dismissed speculation that he plans to resign from President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet, describing the reports as false and threatening legal action against those responsible for spreading them.

Musa spoke to State House correspondents on Tuesday after meeting with President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The meeting, which lasted about an hour, focused on the country’s current security situation.

He said he briefed the President on ongoing security operations and expressed optimism about the progress being made in tackling insecurity.

“I just came back from briefing Mr President on the current security situation, and he is very happy with us. We are going to continue doing well,” Musa said.

The minister thanked Nigerians for their continued support of the armed forces, stressing that addressing insecurity requires the collective efforts of citizens alongside security agencies.

“I want to seize this opportunity to appreciate Nigerians for all the support. The support has been massive. To defeat the terrorists and the bandits is a whole-of-society approach. Nigerians have keyed into it, and things are getting better, and they will continue to improve,” he added.

Reacting to reports that he intended to leave office, Musa denied ever discussing resignation and described the claims as baseless.

“I am not going anywhere. I have never discussed this. I don’t even know who the person is that brought that information,” he said.

He warned that legal action would be taken against those behind the rumour.

“But whoever it is, we will take legal action against them. We are surprised. I was shocked when I saw that. I don’t know where that came from. But you always expect that there will be people who will not be happy when things are going well.”

According to the minister, recent improvements in the country’s security situation may have prompted attempts to spread misinformation.

“Security is improving, things are getting better, and for them, that is a sad point. They always want to make it look as if it is not so,” he said.