Nigeria’s push for self-reliance in arms and ammunition production received a significant boost on Wednesday as the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) signed a joint venture agreement with SP Offshore Nigeria Limited.
The partnership will pave the way for the local manufacturing of military hardware, including weapons, ammunition, fast assault craft, drones, and security vehicles.
Speaking at the signing ceremony held at DICON headquarters in Kaduna, the Director General of DICON, Major General Babatunde Ibrahim Alaya, described the agreement as a landmark development in Nigeria’s drive to establish a robust military industrial complex.
“This memorandum of understanding with SP Offshore takes DICON to another level,” Alaya said. “We are now partnering with another Nigerian company to produce ammunition, weapons, and establish a jetty in Lagos where we can manufacture fast assault craft, security vehicles, and other platforms critical to our national security.”
He revealed that local production of ammunition would commence within a year, with plans to expand to full weapons manufacturing shortly afterward.
Alaya emphasized that the venture would accelerate indigenous capacity and enable DICON to meet the growing needs of Nigeria’s Armed Forces and security agencies.
He also commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for signing the DICON Act 2023, which provided the legal framework for such strategic partnerships. Alaya extended appreciation to the Minister of Defence, the Minister of State for Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff, and the Service Chiefs for their unwavering support.
In his remarks, SP Offshore’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Obafemi Adekunle, said the collaboration would attract billions of dollars in investment to Nigeria’s defence sector, with technology transfer and capacity building as key benefits of the partnership.
Adekunle stressed that modern warfare would increasingly hinge on technological superiority, adding that, “The next wars won’t just be fought with guns and bullets, but through technological warfare,” he said. “What we are offering the Nigerian military is deterrence capability the kind that puts fear into the enemies of the state and compels them to rethink any attempt to destabilize our country.”
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He hinted that some of the cutting-edge platforms under the partnership could not yet be disclosed for strategic reasons. “A lot of things are coming, but we won’t reveal everything here because you don’t show your entire hand to adversaries. Let them discover it themselves over time.”
Adekunle also paid tribute to the DG DICON for his “record-speed administrative acumen,” and lauded the commitment of President Tinubu as well as lawmakers who championed the enabling legislation. “This alliance is more than a contract. It is a beacon of our collective strength, an unbreakable promise to safeguard Nigeria,” he said.
The joint venture is expected to not only satisfy Nigeria’s local defence requirements but also create excess capacity that could see the country exporting military equipment to other nations in the near future.
With the new deal, stakeholders say Nigeria is on course to drastically reduce dependence on foreign arms supplies, conserve foreign exchange and build critical local competencies in defence manufacturing.