Turkey will train 200 Nigerian special forces as part of efforts to bolster the country’s defence system.

Christopher Musa, minister of defence, said the training is part of bilateral security agreements between both countries following discussions with Yasar Guler, his Turkish counterpart.

Musa spoke on the sidelines of the 5th Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF2026) in Turkey on Saturday.

“We have a special forces training agreement. Türkiye has agreed to give us 200 special forces training, so as soon as I return, we are sending them here for training,” a NAN report quoted the minister as saying.

“We will continue to do a lot. There will be exercises. The first exercise is coming up later in the year. So, in so many areas of defence, we are going to work together.”

Musa added that Nigeria and Turkey had also agreed on joint defence equipment production and the transfer of military technology.

“I’ve had a meeting with the Turkish Minister of Defence, where we shared a lot of ideas on how to improve on our relationship, defence-wise,” the minister said.

“Türkiye has improved dramatically about the production of military hardware.

“Nigeria is still developing, and we have agreed that we are going to partner together so that we have a co-production of some of these items.”

Musa cited both countries’ ongoing fight against terrorism as a reason for collaboration.

“Because of that, we will move into training, production and improving on our defence, industrial production, and exchange of officers and soldiers,” the minister said.

Turkey has positioned itself as a strategic partner in Nigeria’s fight against terrorism.

In January, Nigeria and Turkey signed nine agreements to strengthen bilateral ties during President Bola Tinubu’s state visit to the Middle Eastern country, including one on defence cooperation.

The following month, Mehmet Poroy, Turkish ambassador to Nigeria, said Turkey was ready to strengthen military ties with Nigeria because both countries face similar challenges in the fight against terrorism.

Poroy added that Turkey would share its capabilities and resources with Nigeria.