Rank #73 · Africa
Nigeria operates Africa's largest military by active personnel — over 230,000 troops — spending roughly $3 billion on defence in 2025 against an acute multi-front internal security crisis. The Armed Forces confront Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province, banditry in the northwest, and separatist pressures in the southeast simultaneously, driving demand for counterinsurgency aviation including US-supplied A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft.
Nigeria's FY2025 defence appropriation is ₦5.04 trillion, translating to roughly $3 billion at prevailing naira exchange rates — though naira volatility makes the USD figure uncertain. The security envelope is broader: police, paramilitary, and state-level security spending bring total public-safety expenditure higher. Procurement priorities include counterinsurgency aircraft, naval patrol vessels for Gulf of Guinea anti-piracy, and armoured vehicles. The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria has ambitions for domestic small-arms and vehicle production, but the vast majority of major platforms remain imported. Debt-servicing pressures constrain the defence share of the federal budget.
The Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) comprise the Nigerian Army (largest branch), Nigerian Navy, and Nigerian Air Force (~18,000 personnel). The Army fields infantry and motorised brigades distributed across six geopolitical zones, with theatre commands established for the northeast (Boko Haram/ISWAP), northwest (banditry), and south (Niger Delta/separatism). The Air Force operates A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft delivered by the US beginning in 2021, Alpha Jets, Mi-35 attack helicopters, and various transport types. The Navy focuses on Gulf of Guinea patrol, with corvettes and fast attack craft fighting oil-theft and piracy. Nigeria maintains a Joint Task Force model for internal operations.
Nigeria's domestic defence industry, anchored by the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), is limited to small-arms assembly, uniforms, boots, and light vehicles. Major platforms — aircraft, naval vessels, armoured vehicles, missiles — are all imported. Key suppliers include the US (A-29 Tucano, M-4 rifles), Brazil (training aircraft), China (armoured vehicles, UAVs), Israel (UAVs, electronics), and the UK (patrol vessels). Nigeria has pursued South-South cooperation with South Africa and Pakistan for some equipment. Industrial offset requirements are beginning to appear in new contracts but local value-addition remains low.
Nigeria faces the continent's most complex internal security environment. The northeast sees active combat against Boko Haram splinter groups and ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province), which has killed tens of thousands since 2009. Banditry and kidnapping in the northwest — involving large armed groups increasingly linked to jihadist networks — account for thousands of casualties annually. The southeast sees a low-level separatist insurgency (IPOB/ESN). The Niger Delta periodically flares with oil-infrastructure attacks. Internationally, Nigeria leads ECOWAS on Mali and Niger coup responses, though military intervention has not materialised.
The remaining A-29 Super Tucano deliveries from the US (12 total) were completed by end-2023, providing the Air Force its most capable counterinsurgency aircraft. In 2024 Nigeria acquired additional CH-3A Chinese combat drones for northeast operations. The Army launched Operation Fansan Yamma in the northwest in 2024, deploying armoured and air assets against bandit strongholds. President Tinubu raised the defence budget by roughly 35% in naira terms for FY2025 to address the security crisis. Nigeria deployed troops to the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) against Lake Chad Basin extremist groups, coordinating with Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.
Nigeria's FY2025 defence budget is approximately $3 billion (₦5.04 trillion), or around 0.7% of GDP. This makes Nigeria the largest military spender in West Africa and among the top three in sub-Saharan Africa. Naira devaluation makes the USD figure volatile year to year.
A combination of Boko Haram/ISWAP jihadist insurgency in the northeast (active since 2009), mass banditry and kidnapping in the northwest, separatist agitation in the southeast, and Gulf of Guinea maritime piracy. The northeast conflict has displaced over two million people and killed more than 35,000.
Yes. The US approved the sale of 12 A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft to Nigeria in 2016; deliveries were completed by 2023. These aircraft, designed for counterinsurgency, represent the most capable fast-movers in the Nigerian Air Force and have been used in northeast operations against ISWAP.
Over 230,000 active personnel, making it the largest military in Africa by active troop count. The Army is by far the biggest service. Nigeria also contributes heavily to UN peacekeeping missions — over 20,000 personnel deployed historically across Liberia, Sierra Leone, Darfur, and other missions.