Spanish defence company EM&E Group has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Nigerian firm Nigus Tactical Systems, part of Nigus International, to explore a strategic partnership to develop sovereign defence and industrial capabilities in Nigeria. The agreement was signed on EM&E’s stand at the first Africa International Defence Exhibition (AFRIDEX), held at Eko Atlantic in Lagos from 26 to 29 October 2026.
According to EM&E, the collaboration sets up an initial work stream in Nigeria with a progressive development roadmap and the potential to expand into other markets across the African continent. “With this agreement, we reinforce our commitment to industrial cooperation and the development of defense capabilities, driving new business opportunities through strategic alliances and technological solutions tailored to the needs of the African market,” the company said.
A first work stream, not yet a contract
Neither company has published the value of the agreement, the products it covers or a timetable. As an MoU, it commits the two sides to explore cooperation rather than to a specific programme, and EM&E describes it as the start of a roadmap that would grow in stages, beginning in Nigeria before any move into neighbouring markets.
The pairing gives EM&E a local industrial partner in Africa’s most populous country after it used AFRIDEX to court African buyers. As Military Africa reported from the show, the Madrid-based company, whose initials stand for Escribano Mechanical and Engineering and which has worked in precision engineering since 1989, displayed its EMOC mortar carriers, ODIN counter-drone systems and remote weapon stations in Lagos and said it wanted long-term relationships on the continent.
What EM&E brings
The EMOC family comes in 120 millimetre and 81 millimetre versions designed for light wheeled vehicles and “shoot-and-scoot” tactics; the company says the 120 millimetre system deploys in under 20 seconds and the 81 millimetre system in 15 seconds, and both are compatible with its smart mortar ammunition. The ODIN counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) family covers detection, identification and defeat of drones. Its largest version, the ODIN 6×6 shown at Eurosatory in Paris in June 2026, combines four radars, an electronic warfare jammer, two interceptor drones and a GUARDIAN 2.0 PRO remote weapon station with a 30 millimetre M230LF cannon and a laser-guided micro-missile launcher on the FEROX armoured vehicle.
EM&E already has a foothold in North Africa. Military Africa reported in 2021 that it had agreed to supply remote weapon stations to the Egyptian Army, and the company says it will deliver 47 naval weapon stations to the Portuguese Navy through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA). Remote weapon stations, mortar carriers and counter-drone systems are all areas where Nigerian forces fighting insurgents and bandits in the north have urgent needs.
Who is Nigus Tactical Systems?
Nigus Tactical Systems Ltd is the special purpose vehicle that Nigus International Investment Limited set up for its partnership with Emirati investor Elmirate Capital, which in March 2026 signed an MoU to invest up to $200 million in Nigeria’s defence and aerospace sectors. According to the companies’ announcement, reported by Tech In Africa, the vehicle operates under the framework of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) and the DICON Act 2023, with planned work in tactical and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) drones, ammunition, armoured vehicles and protected mobility, surveillance systems, military cyber defence and satellite technology. Nigus International’s Executive Chairman is HRH Prince Malik Ado-Ibrahim.
The group has been signing foreign partners at a steady pace. In May, Nigus signed an MoU with Turkey’s DASAL Aviation Technologies at SAHA 2026 in Istanbul covering loitering munitions and local logistics and assembly. At AFRIDEX itself, sister company Nigus Hercules agreed with India’s Airbornics Defence and Space (ADSL) to set up maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) for the Nigerian Army’s tanks and armoured vehicles. The EM&E agreement adds a European partner to a portfolio that already spans Turkish, Indian and Emirati links.
Nigeria’s push for local production
The MoU fits the message Nigeria sent at its first defence show. President Bola Tinubu told AFRIDEX that Africa must become more self-reliant in defence and that partnerships should leave lasting capability behind, and several deals signed in Lagos followed that model, including HAVELSAN’s technology cooperation MoU with DICON. Spain itself has a growing profile in the region; Spanish shipyard Navantia was recently contracted to modernise two Angolan Navy patrol vessels.
From Lagos Stand to Nigerian Workshop
The test for the agreement will be what moves from paper to production. EM&E’s mortar, counter-drone and weapon station lines lend themselves to local integration on Nigerian-built vehicles, and Nigus has framed its whole effort around manufacturing in Nigeria under DICON. Which systems the two companies choose for the first work stream, whether the Nigerian Armed Forces place orders, and how much assembly and support takes place inside the country will decide whether the partnership becomes a channel for EM&E into the wider West African market.
