Nigeria Rejects Foreign Mercenaries, Seeks Local Military Equipment Production with China’s Collaboration

ABUJA – The Federal Government has reaffirmed its stance against employing foreign private military companies to address its security challenges, emphasizing that such measures do not offer lasting solutions. Instead, under President Bola Tinubu's leadership, Nigeria is pursuing collaboration with China to domesticate the production of military equipment.

According to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, the move aims to eliminate delays associated with importing military supplies and strengthen Nigeria’s capacity for self-reliance in security.

China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, who is on an official visit to Nigeria, expressed satisfaction with Nigeria’s plans to issue a panda bond through its currency swap policy and further enhance bilateral relations, including finalizing railway construction loans.

During a joint press briefing at the Presidential Villa, Tuggar emphasized Nigeria’s leadership role in addressing regional and continental peace and security challenges, asserting that private military companies are not a viable solution.

He highlighted the importance of partnerships like the one with China to boost local production of both kinetic and non-kinetic military equipment, ensuring that Nigeria can tackle its security concerns efficiently and constitutionally without external dependency.