Outrage as FG spends over N800 billion on importing arms in 5 years

Stakeholders are lamenting as a recent data obtained frim the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicates that Nigeria spent N804.10bn on arms and ammunition imports between 2020 and the second quarter of 2025.

The new data comes at a time the government plans to expand domestic production, raising concerns about foreign exchange depletion and national security dependence on external suppliers.

Also, local manufacturers increased the call for deeper collaboration with the country’s Armed Forces for the production of some arms and ammunition domestically, stressing that this would considerably reduce the huge FX spent on arms imports.

Foreign trade data from the NBS showed that in 2020, Nigeria imported arms and ammunition, including parts, worth N29.24bn. The import bill surged to N72.50bn in 2021 before dropping to N28.24bn in 2022. In 2023, imports jumped again to N127.16bn. By 2024, it rose astronomically to N520.02bn, recording the highest importation of arms and ammunition in the five years.

Between January and June 2025, Nigeria imported arms worth N26.95bn, indicating that the upward trend had not abated. Data showed that in the first quarter of 2025, arms and ammunition imports stood at N22.08bn, with an additional N4.87bn imported in the second quarter. This brought the total to N26.95bn in the first half of 2025 alone.

Stakeholders say the rise in arms imports proves that Nigeria’s local defence manufacturing capacity is yet to be efficient.

Speaking to Punch, the Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said, “We are in talks with DICON. And in MAN, we have members who manufacture military hardware.

“Collaboration is only a foregone conclusion. It would be nice to see private and public sector partnerships flourish in this regard, because this is a strategic as well as an economic game changer for Nigeria.”

On his part, the National Vice President of NASSI, Segun Kuti-George, linked the ballooning import bill to weak local research and insufficient industrial participation. He noted that while small-scale players had yet to feature prominently in arms production, they could play a critical role if given access to science-driven innovation.