Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters has rejected claims that the country plans to host a foreign military base, saying recent defence cooperation with the United States does not include such an arrangement.
The clarification followed speculation that growing security collaboration between Nigeria and the United States could result in the establishment of a United States military base in the West African nation.
Major General S. M. Uba, the Director of Defence Information at Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, addressed the issue during a Twitter Space discussion organised by Sunday Dare, the Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria on Media and Public Communications.
During the discussion, Uba explained that the relationship between the Nigerian Armed Forces and the United States Army is limited to professional cooperation and does not involve the creation of a foreign base in Nigeria.
“The partnership between Nigeria and the United States does not imply the establishment of a United States military base in Nigeria.
“The collaboration is purely based on bilateral military cooperation focused on professional training, operational capacity building, and intelligence sharing to strengthen Nigeria’s security capabilities. Such cooperation is not unique to the United States alone.
“Nigeria maintains similar defence partnerships with several other countries as part of its broader strategy to improve military professionalism and enhance its ability to address contemporary security challenges, including terrorism, insurgency, banditry, and transnational crimes,” Uba said.
He noted that Nigeria has defence cooperation agreements with several countries as part of its broader strategy to strengthen the professionalism and effectiveness of its armed forces.
According to him, the collaboration includes joint training programmes, intelligence exchanges, technical cooperation and knowledge sharing among military institutions.
Uba said these initiatives are designed to help the Nigerian military adopt international best practices while improving operational efficiency in protecting the country’s territorial integrity.
He added that all defence partnerships involving Nigeria are conducted with full respect for the country’s sovereignty and national interest.
Uba also reiterated that there are currently no plans to establish any foreign military base in Nigeria.
In his remarks during the online session, Dare said the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed to strengthening the country’s defence and security architecture through strategic partnerships with international allies.
He explained that these collaborations are intended to support capacity building and the modernisation of Nigeria’s armed forces as the country continues to address security threats such as terrorism, insurgency, banditry and cross border crimes.