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Nigerian Defense Minister Christopher Gwabin Musa announced at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF) that the two countries have agreed to deploy 200 Nigerian Special Forces personnel to Türkiye for training immediately.
The two sides also agreed on co-production of defense equipment and military technology transfer, as the minister praised Türkiye's 40 years of counterterrorism experience and described the bilateral relationship as "family-like."
Musa confirmed the agreement with specificity, saying, "Türkiye approved a quota of 200 slots for our special forces. We will send them to Türkiye for training when we return."
He added that he had met Defense Minister Yasar Guler and discussed ways to develop the defense relationship.
"When they return to Nigeria, I will immediately deploy them. We will continue to do much together, exercises will be held, we will work together in many areas of defense," he noted.
He also announced agreement on defense equipment co-production.
"We agreed to cooperate to jointly produce some of these products," he said, citing Türkiye's advanced development in military equipment manufacturing. He said the partnership would help Nigeria address its security challenges.
Musa gave context for why Türkiye was chosen as the training partner, noting that, "We have been fighting asymmetric warfare for approximately 17 years and Türkiye has 40 years of experience, that is why we work with Türkiye."
He described the relationship as "fantastic" politically and economically.
"Nigeria and Türkiye have come a long way since 1960. Türkiye is like Nigeria's family," he said, adding, "Türkiye has a lot of experience we want to gain through working together."
The forum also hosted a counterterrorism panel titled "Counter-Terrorism: Reclaiming International Cooperation," where Musa said terrorism was not only Nigeria's problem but threatened Mali, Burkina Faso and the wider West African region.
He called Boko Haram one of the world's largest terrorist organizations and called for its inclusion on multinational task force agendas.
"Terror organizations are now conducting attacks with drones and transferring money via cryptocurrency; they are very difficult to track," Musa said.
He linked terrorism to poverty and raised concerns about social media, specifically naming TikTok.
Musa closed his Antalya engagement by praising Ankara's broader diplomatic role.
"We see what Türkiye is doing for peace in the U.S.-Iran and Russia-Ukraine wars. Türkiye has come a long way, and we are proud of them," he said.
"Peace is better than anything. War is good for no one. We will work with other peace-loving countries to ensure peace in the entire world," the Nigerian defense minister said.
He also noted that the 5,000-plus delegates from 150 countries at ADF reflected trust in Türkiye: "This shows people's confidence in Türkiye and what it does."
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