We’re Sending 200 Troops To Turkey for Special Military Training – Defence Minister

Defence Minister, General Christopher Musa, has disclosed that 200 troops drawn from the Nigerian Armed Forces will be sent to Turkey for special military training as part of efforts to boost Nigeria’s defence in the fight against insecurity.

Musa confirmed the development during his official visit to Turkey, meeting with Turkish Defence Minister Yaşar Güler to finalise plans on joint defence production and military technology transfer.

According to a video seen by TVC News on Sunday, the Defence Minister stated that Nigeria and Turkey are working to strengthen their defence relationship and improve cooperation in the production of military hardware.

Musa said, “Nigeria and Türkiye have come a long way since 1960. Türkiye has been like family to Nigeria. We’ve worked together truly; we share so many common things together.

“And Türkiye has a lot of experience that we would like to be able to get from working together. I think before now, I’ve had the initial meeting this morning with the Minister of Defense where we shared a lot of ideas on how to improve our relationship, defence-wise.”

The Defence Minister added, “Türkiye has improved dramatically as regards the production of military hardware, and Nigeria is still developing. And we have agreed we’re going to partner together so that we have co-production of some of the items. As we speak, because we have been fighting asymmetric warfare for almost 17 years now, Türkiye has had experience of over 40 years.

“Because of that, we work together closely. We have agreed to move into training, production, improving our defence industrial cooperation, and the exchange of officers and soldiers. We have a special forces training that Türkiye has approved to give us 200 slots for special forces. As soon as we return, we are sending them to Türkiye for training.

“We continue to do a lot. There will be exercises—the first exercise is coming later in the year. So, in many aspects of defence, we want to continue to work together.”

The Defence Minister also maintained that Nigeria is working together with other peace-loving countries to ensure global peace.

“War wouldn’t do any good for anybody. So we will work together with other peace-loving countries to ensure that there is peace all over the world. These wars have caused a lot of disruption in the economy and human lives. There’s no need to waste lives like that.

“So it’s important that we work together in ensuring that our relationships continue to develop and peace for the entire world. We have seen how Türkiye is stepping in to make peace between Iran, the US, and Israel’s war; between Ukraine and Russia’s war. So Türkiye has really come a long way, and we’re really very proud of them,” he concluded.