Nigeria To Host Landmark African Defence Chiefs Summit In August
Nigeria is stepping into the spotlight of continental security diplomacy as it prepares to welcome defence chiefs across Africa for a high-level summit in Abuja from 25–27 August 2025.
The gathering , the first to be hosted by Nigeria will focus on forging stronger military cooperation to tackle Africa’s most pressing security threats, from terrorism and piracy to cybercrime and resource conflicts.
Themed “Combating Contemporary Threats to Regional Peace and Security in Africa: The Role of Strategic Defence Collaboration”, the summit will unite all 54 African countries with over 90 per cent of defence leaders, confirming attendance along with regional blocs such as the African Union and ECOWAS.
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, said the talks would go beyond ceremonial diplomacy, aiming to deliver actionable strategies, shared intelligence systems, and a continental security template that “addresses challenges as Africans, brothers, and sisters — because charity begins at home.”
He disclosed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will open the event, with United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed delivering the keynote address.
A parallel defence exhibition will showcase Africa’s growing indigenous military capabilities, with Nigerian-made drones, armoured vehicles, and other technologies on display.
Nigeria, long recognised for its peacekeeping leadership, is positioning the summit as a springboard for a stronger African Standby Force, greater defence industry integration, and a unified approach to asymmetric warfare, ensuring, in the words of the CDS, that “the more we work together, the less room there is for terrorists and criminals to divide us.”
