Abuja: The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) and the Nigeria Security Exhibition and Conference (NISEC) have joined forces to develop solutions to address Nigeria and Africa’s defence challenges. The partnership aims to utilize expertise and resources to combat security threats and enhance stability on both national and regional levels.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the Director-General of DICON, Maj.-Gen. Babatunde Alaya, highlighted that the partnership, set to culminate in the 2025 Nigeria International Security Exhibition and Conference (NISECEXPO-DICON), is aligned with the DICON Act 2023. This Act empowers DICON to operate as a modern defence manufacturing entity, regulate the defence industrial sector, and promote defence research and development. It also encourages engagement with both domestic and foreign partners to advance sustainable defence capability and technology transfer.
Alaya, represented by DICON’s Director of Engineering Services, Commodore Adedotun Ogundiran, indicated that the expo represents a forward-thinking step towards strengthening Nigeria’s defence industrialisation. The event is intended to establish the country as a central hub for defence research, manufacturing, and technological development in Africa. The expo will provide a strategic platform to showcase Nigeria’s evolving defence industrial capability, while also opening opportunities for investment, industrial partnership, research facilities, and capacity development.
The event will bring together a wide range of stakeholders, including leaders of parliamentary organisations, policymakers, defence industries, private sector innovators, academia, regulatory institutions, and research bodies. The exhibition will feature technological showcases and high-level engagements focusing on critical areas of national and regional security.
DICON’s Director-General noted that the event will offer opportunities for defence industries and innovators to present solutions, network, and attract investment. It will also enable military institutions to explore defence solutions and engage industry leaders, highlighting science and innovation in modern defence systems for researchers and academics.
The Chief Executive Officer of NISECEXPO, Frank Ohwofa, emphasized that the theme of the event, “Future Wars: Operational Resilience and Force Build-Up Capabilities,” is a strategic imperative driven by the current evolution of threat dynamics facing the world, particularly Africa and Nigeria. As Nigeria’s defence industry transitions from assembling to innovation through partnerships, technology transfer, and research and development, it must embrace technology integration that leverages artificial intelligence, unmanned systems, and networked warfare for intelligent decision-making.
Ohwofa added that this also requires pursuing collaborative build-up, seeking strategic partnerships for co-development and joint ventures that respect sovereignty and build mutual capacity. He noted the vulnerability of nations to hybrid threats, which blend physical attacks with cyber operations, economic coercion, and disinformation campaigns. For Nigeria and Africa, addressing these challenges is critical due to complex insurgencies, terrorism, and maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea, as well as the proliferation of advanced weaponry. Operational Resilience has thus become the cornerstone of Nigeria’s national defence philosophy.