President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of a new Nigerian Army training depot in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, marking the third such facility in the country and expanding the military’s capacity to train thousands of troops amid escalating security challenges across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones.
Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, announced the development via a post on X, stating: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of a new depot for the Nigerian Army in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.
This development takes the number of depots in Nigeria to three up from one that has existed for decades. – Kaduna – Osogbo – Abakaliki.” The move joins the historic Depot Nigerian Army in Zaria, Kaduna State—established by British colonial authorities in 1924 as a training base for the West African Frontier Force—and the recently commissioned Depot in Osogbo, Osun State, opened in August 2025 under Tinubu’s administration.
Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu, disclosed the approval during the passing-out parade of 3,439 recruits from the 89 Regular Recruits Intake at Depot Zaria. He emphasized the depot’s role in addressing pervasive insecurity, saying: “All these are geared towards increasing the strength of the Nigerian Army, and the reasons are not far-fetched. There are security challenges across the length and breadth of the country in each geopolitical zone.”
Shaibu detailed that 3,500 additional troops are already on board, with another 3,500 arriving next week from Osogbo, all slated for advanced infantry training before deployment.
The new facility will leverage technology, including indoor shooting ranges to enhance marksmanship, as Shaibu explained: “So now with this additional 3,500 troops coming on board, as well as next week we have another 3,500 troops coming on board from Osogbo, all these troops will now be given further training, advanced infantry training, before their deployment in various areas of operation. To increase the strength of our venerable troops and boots on the ground in tackling the security challenges in the country… Even in training here, we are leveraging technology. We have the indoor shooting range, which is one of the ways we look to improve their marksmanship principles. And that is part of leveraging technology, right from their training session. When they go to the field, they will have more advanced specialist training as well, so that they complement their skills in preparing them for the tasks ahead.”
Shaibu described the Abakaliki depot as a cornerstone of the Army’s modernization drive, stating: “The presidential approval for the Abakaliki depot forms part of our broader strategy to increase trained personnel for national service and security operations… It will supplement existing facilities, strengthening the Army’s ability to tackle emerging security threats.”
The training will prioritize specialized skills in marksmanship, fieldcraft, combat preparedness, recruit welfare, and institutional strengthening to produce disciplined soldiers capable of countering terrorism, insurgency, and other threats.
This decentralization further breaks Zaria’s century-long monopoly on recruit training, ensuring a steady pipeline of combat-ready personnel. Sources indicate the depot aligns with the Nigerian Army’s strategic plan to enhance sovereignty protection, with operations expected to commence soon. President Tinubu’s consistent support has been hailed as pivotal to these defense enhancements.
