By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, has announced that Nigeria will deploy 200 Special Forces personnel to Türkiye for training, following a new defence agreement between both countries.
The disclosure was made on Saturday, 19 April, 2026 on the sidelines of the 5th Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya after talks with his Turkish counterpart, Yasar Guler.
The three-day forum, which began on Friday, 17 April, 2026 under the theme “Mapping Tomorrow, Managing Uncertainties,” attracted world leaders, ministers and diplomats.
Musa explained that Türkiye had allocated a training quota for 200 Nigerian personnel, who would be deployed immediately upon his return, thereby deepening bilateral defence cooperation.
“We have a Special Forces training agreement. Türkiye has agreed to give us 200 Special Forces trainees, so as soon as I return, we are sending them here for training,” he said.
Furthermore, the minister indicated that the partnership would extend beyond training to joint exercises and wider military collaboration. “We will continue to do a lot. There will be exercises. The first exercise is coming up later in the year. So, in so many areas of defence, we are going to work together,” he added.
Accordingly, Musa disclosed that both countries had also agreed on joint defence equipment production and the transfer of military technology, signalling a shift towards strategic partnership.
He noted that Nigeria and Türkiye had maintained longstanding ties, describing the relationship as familial since 1960, while emphasising the importance of shared defence experience.
“I’ve had a meeting with the Turkish Minister of Defence, where we shared a lot of ideas on how to improve our relationship, defence-wise. Türkiye has improved dramatically in the production of military hardware. Nigeria is still developing, and we have agreed that we are going to partner together so that we have a co-production of some of these items,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Minister highlighted Türkiye’s experience in counter-terrorism, noting that while Nigeria has battled insurgency for about 17 years, Türkiye has faced similar threats for nearly four decades.
He said both nations would expand cooperation in training, defence production and personnel exchange.
“Because of that, we will move into training, production, and improving on our defence, industrial production, and exchange of officers and soldiers,” he stated.
The forum, attended by participants from about 150 countries, including over 5,000 decision-makers, featured discussions on global defence, security, and broader geopolitical issues, thereby reinforcing Nigeria’s push to strengthen international defence partnerships.
