Nigeria, Oct. 28 -- Nigeria will begin large-scale local production of defence hardware within the next year to meet domestic military requirements and export equipment to other African countries, the Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, has said.

Mr Musa disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday following the maiden Africa International Defence Exhibition (AFRIDEX), which brought together African governments, military institutions, defence manufacturers and technology innovators.

He said the planned production would support Nigeria's efforts to reduce dependence on imported military equipment and strengthen its domestic defence manufacturing capacity.

"Within the next year, Nigeria will commence large-scale local production of defenc...