Nigeria shifting towards self-reliance in military hardware – Defence minister

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4 days ago

The Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, has stated that Nigeria is steadily moving away from dependence on foreign military procurement towards local production of combat vehicles, arms, ammunition, and other military equipment.

He noted that this local shift will also include repairs and refurbishment of existing military hardware—an important step toward achieving national self-reliance and strengthening internal security.

In a statement released by the Minister’s media aide, Mati Ali, the Minister was quoted as commending the military’s ongoing efforts in training, local manufacturing, and asset refurbishment.

According to the statement, “Training remains a vital pillar in achieving Nigeria’s defence objectives. I equally inspected several workshops and saw impressive potentials and progress on repairs and refurbishing of completely burnt and damaged MRAPs, Tanks, and APC vehicles.

“New combat platforms such as Buffalo APC fighting vehicles and MRAPs, bullet proof glasses, spare parts and surveillance UAV’s are also being built at the workshops. Some of the equipment successfully constructed and repaired are made readily available for redeployment while others are already deployed back to theatre’s of operations,” he said.

The Minister praised the initiative of the Armed Forces and underscored the importance of Training, Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) in achieving operational effectiveness.

He also highlighted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s dedication to overhauling Nigeria’s defence infrastructure, pointing to the recent signing of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) Bill into law. The legislation aims to strengthen local capabilities in the production, refurbishment, and supply of military hardware and ordnance for the Armed Forces and other security agencies.

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He further stressed the importance of sustained investment in institutions such as the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), the Command Engineering Depot (CED), and Buffalo Engineering Technical Services Limited (BETSL), to help produce highly skilled and dedicated military personnel and advance domestic defence production.

The Minister made these remarks during a two-day working visit to key military institutions in Kaduna State, including the NDA, CED, BETSL, and AFIT.

He was accompanied by senior military officials, including Major General M.L.D. Saraso, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division; Major General A.K. Ibrahim, Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy; and Air Vice Marshal Sani Labaran Rabe, Commandant of AFIT, among others.

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