Turkey will train 200 Nigerian special forces as part of
efforts to bolster the country’s defence system.
Christopher Musa, minister of defence, said the training is
part of bilateral security agreements between both countries following
discussions with Yasar Guler, his Turkish counterpart.
Musa spoke on the sidelines of the 5th Antalya Diplomacy
Forum (ADF2026) in Turkey on Saturday.
“We have a special forces training agreement. Türkiye has
agreed to give us 200 special forces training, so as soon as I return, we are
sending them here for training,” a NAN report quoted the minister as saying.
“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.”
Musa added that Nigeria and Turkey had also agreed on joint
defence equipment production and the transfer of military technology.
“I’ve had a meeting with the Turkish Minister of Defence,
where we shared a lot of ideas on how to improve on our relationship,
defence-wise,” the minister said.
“Türkiye has improved dramatically with regard to 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.”
Musa cited both countries’ ongoing fight against terrorism
as a reason for collaboration.
“Because of that, we will move into training, production and
improving on our defence, industrial production, and exchange of officers and
soldiers,” the minister said.
Turkey has positioned itself as a strategic partner in
Nigeria’s fight against terrorism.
In January, Nigeria and Turkey signed nine agreements to
strengthen bilateral ties during President Bola Tinubu’s state visit to the
Middle Eastern country, including one on defence cooperation.
The following month, Mehmet Poroy, Turkish ambassador to
Nigeria, said Turkey was ready to strengthen military ties with Nigeria because
both countries face similar challenges in the fight against terrorism.
Poroy added that Turkey would share its capabilities and
resources with Nigeria.
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