The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, hosted his South African counterpart, Lieutenant General Lawrence Khulekani Mbatha, at the Army Headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, March 10, 2026.
The Nigerian Army is sharing its extensive, hands-on experience in asymmetric warfare and counter-insurgency. Specifically, they discussed training South African personnel in Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) operations at the Nigerian Army School of Infantry.
South Africa is known for its advanced technical capabilities. The focus here is on Aviation Training and Maintenance. The Nigerian Army is looking to leverage South
African expertise to expand its own aviation wing and train more pilots and technical staff.
Nigerian officers already attend the South African Defence College, while South African officers serve as instructors at the Army War College Nigeria and the Armed Forces Command and Staff College in Jaji.
During his visit, Lt. Gen. Mbatha specifically praised the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), noting that South Africa is interested in benchmarking its training systems against Nigeria’s integrated curriculum.
​Both leaders agreed that the “battlefield” has changed. They emphasized on enhancing digital defense capabilities to protect military infrastructure and training Nigerian military doctors in specialized areas within South African military health institutions. Strengthening the security architecture of the continent to handle the “complex threats” that don’t respect national borders
