Turkey To Establish Military Training Facility In Nigeria Amid Strong Allegations Of Supplying Weapons To Boko Haram Terrorists
The Bola Tinubu and Türkiye governments have agreed to establish a major military training facility in Nigeria, as part of a defence partnership aimed at strengthening the country’s security architecture.
The agreement was reached during high-level talks between Nigeria’s Defence Minister, Christopher Musa, and his Turkish counterpart at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2026.
Under the deal, the facility will serve as a long-term training hub for Nigerian Armed Forces, focusing on special forces operations, intelligence integration, counterterrorism, and counter-drone warfare.
According to a statement on Sunday by the Ministry of Defence Chief Information, Queeneth Iheoma-Hart, the planned training centre will serve as a long-term hub for capacity development, with Nigeria already identifying a suitable coastal location for the permanent facility.
She said a temporary site is also expected to be provided to kick-start operations.
Also, under the arrangement, Nigerian armed forces personnel will undergo specialised training in areas such as Special Forces operations, counterterrorism, intelligence integration, counter-drone and counter-IED operations, as well as United Nations pre-deployment exercises.
The statement read, “The Minister of Defence, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (retd.), led a high-level Nigerian delegation to productive bilateral talks with the Turkish Minister of Defence at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2026.
“The delegation included the Chief of the Air Staff, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Nigerian Embassy, the Defence Adviser and senior officials from the Ministry of Defence and the Nigerian Embassy in Türkiye.
“Training and capacity development: Türkiye proposed structured, scalable training programmes for Nigerian armed forces in areas including Special Forces operations, counterterrorism, intelligence integration, counter-drone and counter-IED operations, and UN pre-deployment training.
“Immediate deployment of an initial cohort to Türkiye was agreed, alongside Turkish language instruction and participation in field training exercises.
“Both parties agreed to establish a major military training facility in Nigeria as a long-term centre of excellence; Nigeria will provide a temporary training site and has identified a suitable coastal location for permanent infrastructure.”
Beyond training, the statement said the partnership included provisions for technology transfer, defence industry collaboration, and co-development of military capabilities.
“Türkiye offered to share best practices in reintegration programmes to support Nigeria’s management of surrendered combatants and long-term community reintegration,” the statement said.
In the area of air power, the deal includes commitments to strengthen maintenance systems, logistics, and training to improve operational readiness of the Nigerian Air Force, with potential acquisition of helicopters and unmanned systems under consideration.
Naval cooperation is also a key component, with plans for Nigerian officials to engage Turkish counterparts on maritime training and the possible acquisition of naval platforms to boost maritime security.
Speaking on the development, Musa described the outcomes of the meeting as “a significant step forward” in Nigeria–Türkiye defence relations.
“We are committed to delivering tangible, measurable results that strengthen our national security and advance the Renewed Hope Agenda,” he said, expressing optimism about the timely implementation of the agreements.
The agreement with Türkiye is coming at a time when the United States troops are in the country providing support in training, intelligence gathering and equipment assistance.
However, the development comes amid resurfaced allegations largely circulated online that Turkey had previously supplied weapons to the terrorist group Boko Haram.
Recall that Parallel Facts News had reported how A new video evidence showcasing terrorists wielding sophisticated NATO grade weapon emerged after an Egyptian TV indicted Turkey of aiding Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria.
Ten.tv had recently reports Turkey is supplying weapons to Boko Haram in Nigeria with TV host Nasha’t al-Deyhi reporting a leak confirming an intercepted phone call from a few years back – confirming the action.
He reported in part: “Today’s leak confirms without a doubt that Erdogan, his state, his government, and his party are transferring weapons from Turkey to – this is a shock, to where you may ask – to Nigeria; and to whom? – to the Boko Haram organization.”
Corroborating the report, a Shillman Fellow in Journalism at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an expert on the Middle East and Islam, Raymond Ibrahim said he was not surprised by the Ten.tv report.
“The tape was made in 2014 or 15 and it was reported widely in certain areas, in the US and the west not so much and not much came out of it,” Ibrahim said. “The reason I think is that (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan didn’t have his fingers so much in Islamist politics outside of his own nation.”
“But now that we’ve seen Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the ISIS Islamic state caliph that was killed recently, and he was found just three miles from the Turkish border, which is, in fact, the last bastion of jihadi-so-called ‘freedom fighters’ attacking the Syrian government,” he told CBN News.
