# Future warfare a core topic at the NISECEXPO 2025

- Link: https://www.military.africa/2025/12/future-warfare-a-core-topic-at-the-nisecexpo-2025/
- Published: 2025-12-09T13:49:23+01:00
- Author: Military Africa

The 8th edition of the Nigeria International Security Exhibition and Conference (
NISECEXPO) opened on Monday in Abuja, signalling a distinct shift in Nigeria’s defence
posture—from a net importer of hardware to a developing hub for local manufacturing
and asymmetric warfare capabilities.

Running from December 8–10, 2025, this year’s exhibition is themed _“Future Wars:
Operational Resilience and Force Build-Up Capabilities.”_ The event has drawn delegates
from over 50 countries, including policymakers, private-sector innovators, and military
leadership, to address the convergence of conventional defence needs with emerging
threats in the cyber and autonomous domains.

### **A New Industrial Mandate**

Opening the plenary sessions on December 8, Major General Babatunde Ibrahim Alaya,
Director General of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), [emphasised the urgency of industrial self-reliance](https://www.military.africa/2025/11/dicon-partners-nisec-2025-to-showcase-indigenous-defence-production/?relatedposts_hit=1&relatedposts_origin=33622&relatedposts_position=0).
Speaking on _“Driving National Security Through Local Production of Military Equipment,”_
Alaya outlined DICON’s accelerated roadmap to domesticate the production of critical
munitions and platforms.

This focus aligns with the recent enactment of the [DICON Act 2023](https://www.military.africa/2023/11/nigeria-signs-dicon-bill-boosts-defence-industry/),
which empowers the corporation to regulate the defence industrial sector and foster
public-private partnerships. The goal is to reduce capital flight and mitigate supply
chain vulnerabilities exposed by global geopolitical shifts.

General Christopher Gwabin Musa, recently appointed Minister of Defence, reinforced
this message in his address on _“Future Wars: Building Africa’s Defence Production
Capabilities.”_ Represented at the event, General Musa argued that government policy
must now aggressively incentivise the local manufacturing sector to move beyond 
basic assembly and into the fabrication of complex systems required for modern combat.

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### **Multi-Domain Operations and Asymmetric Threats**

The shifting character of warfare was a central theme for the Chief of Defence Staff(
CDS), General Olufemi Oluyede. In his keynote on _“Strengthening Military Operations
Through Joint Command and Multi-Domain Platforms,”_ General Oluyede highlighted 
that the Nigerian Armed Forces are transitioning toward a fully integrated joint
force structure.

General Oluyede noted that future adversaries will not be limited to the physical
battlefield but will operate across the electromagnetic spectrum, cyberspace, and
information domains. He called for the acquisition and development of platforms 
that can seamlessly share data across the Army, Navy, and Air Force to close the“
sensor-to-shooter” loop faster than the enemy can react.

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### **Additive Manufacturing: The Technical Edge**

Perhaps the most forward-looking technical session occurred on the second day, led
by Mr. Kayode Adeleke, CEO of RusselSmith Group. Speaking on _“Additive Manufacturing
for Military Resilience, Self-Reliance and Defence Readiness in Africa,”_ Adeleke
presented a case for integrating 3D printing into the defence supply chain.

For a semi-technical audience, the implications of industrial-grade additive manufacturing(
AM) are profound. It allows for the rapid prototyping of drone components, the on-
demand production of spare parts for legacy vehicles (such as the sprawling fleet
of MRAPs and soft-skinned trucks used in counter-insurgency), and the fabrication
of complex geometries impossible with traditional machining. RusselSmith’s recent
partnership with DICON aims to leverage this technology to reduce downtime for critical
assets in the field.

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### **The Pathway Forward**

Major General V.O. Ezugwu (Rtd), a former Director General of DICON and the architect
behind the indigenously produced Ezugwu MRAP, provided a retrospective and forward-
looking analysis on December 9. His presentation, _“Strengthening the Coordination
of Military Production for National Defence and Future Wars,”_ stressed that “force
build-up” is not just about stockpiling weapons but about creating a cohesive ecosystem
where R&D institutions, private industry, and the military user requirements align.

Organisers noted that since its inception in 2014, NISECEXPO has evolved from a 
security conference into a premier continental marketplace. This year’s focus on“
Operational Resilience” acknowledges that in an era of hybrid warfare, the ability
of a force to sustain itself logistically through local industry is as vital as 
its frontline firepower.

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