Nigeria and Türkiye have agreed to establish a major military training facility in Nigeria as part of a defence partnership aimed at strengthening the country’s security architecture.
The agreement was reached during bilateral talks between Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, and his Turkish counterpart, Yasar Guler, on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2026.
According to a statement on Sunday by the Ministry of Defence’s Chief Information Officer, Queeneth Iheoma-Hart, the planned training centre will serve as a long-term hub for capacity development, with Nigeria already identifying a suitable coastal location for the permanent facility.
She said a temporary site is also expected to be provided to kick-start operations.
Under the arrangement, Nigerian Armed Forces personnel will undergo specialised training in areas such as Special Forces operations, counterterrorism, intelligence integration, counter-drone and counter-IED operations, as well as United Nations pre-deployment exercises.
The statement partly read, “The Minister of Defence, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (retd.), led a high-level Nigerian delegation to productive bilateral talks with the Turkish Minister of Defence at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2026.
“The delegation included the Chief of the Air Staff, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Nigerian Embassy, the Defence Adviser and senior officials from the Ministry of Defence and the Nigerian Embassy in Türkiye.
“Training and capacity development: Türkiye proposed structured, scalable training programmes for Nigerian Armed Forces in areas including Special Forces operations, counterterrorism, intelligence integration, counter-drone and counter-IED operations, and UN pre-deployment training.
“Immediate deployment of an initial cohort to Türkiye was agreed, alongside Turkish language instruction and participation in field training exercises.
“Both parties agreed to establish a major military training facility in Nigeria as a long-term centre of excellence; Nigeria will provide a temporary training site and has identified a suitable coastal location for permanent infrastructure.”
Beyond training, she said the partnership includes provisions for technology transfer, defence industry collaboration, and co-development of military capabilities.