Türkiye Plans Defence Production Facilities in Nigeria, Targets $5bn Trade

Türkiye has announced plans to establish local defence production facilities and military training centres in Nigeria as part of efforts to strengthen security cooperation and increase bilateral trade to $5 billion.

The Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mehmet Poroy, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during a press briefing marking 66 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Poroy said the proposed production facilities would allow Türkiye to move beyond supplying military equipment to Nigeria by supporting local manufacturing.

He explained that the initiative was part of efforts to implement agreements reached during President Bola Tinubu’s visit to Türkiye earlier in 2026. The visit, attended by nine Nigerian ministers, resulted in the signing of nine agreements and memoranda of understanding.

According to the ambassador, discussions are ongoing on the possibility of establishing local production units to manufacture some of the defence equipment required by Nigeria.

On military training, Poroy revealed that 200 Nigerian special forces personnel were completing a two-month training programme in Türkiye.

He added that both countries were planning to establish a training facility in Nigeria, where Turkish military officers would support continuous training for Nigerian personnel without requiring all troops to travel abroad.

The ambassador also expressed Türkiye’s readiness to share its counterterrorism experience with Nigeria, noting that his country had spent four decades confronting terrorism, losing more than 40,000 people and billions of dollars in the process.

He stressed that tackling terrorism required more than military operations, as economic and religious factors also needed attention.

On trade, Poroy said both countries were targeting an increase in bilateral trade from approximately $2 billion to $5 billion. The current figure includes oil and gas transactions.

He described the existing trade volume as inadequate considering Nigeria’s economic potential, adding that Türkiye’s total trade with African countries stood at approximately $37 billion.

Poroy further disclosed that Turkish investments across Africa exceeded $10 billion, while investments in Nigeria remained below $1 billion.

He said engagements with chambers of commerce in Abuja, Kano, Kaduna and Lagos were underway to attract more Turkish businesses and strengthen private-sector partnerships.

The ambassador also disclosed that Türkiye had provided food assistance to 3,000 internally displaced families in Adamawa State, while Turkish humanitarian organisations spent about $5 million on interventions in Nigeria over the previous year.

Although the proposed defence facilities represent a potential expansion of bilateral cooperation, details of their investment value, location, production capacity and implementation timeline were not disclosed.