The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) is proud to support this landmark Defence and Security event in Lagos.

A vital platform for fostering collaboration, promoting innovation, and advancing capacity building across Africa. As the Continent faces evolving security challenges, this gathering offers an opportunity to strengthen strategic partnerships, showcase indigenous capabilities, and drive forward the shared goal of a safer and more secure Africa.

By leveraging our collective expertise and resources, we can build the resilient defence infrastructure needed to safeguard our nations, promote stability, and secure a future of lasting peace and shared prosperity for the African continent.

Africa is facing a range of security challenges and so bringing an exhibition together like the African International Defence Exhibition, allows companies to demonstrate and showcase their very best capabilities and allows African nations the opportunity to meet the security needs that they desire.

International terrorism is one of the biggest challenges and it is very important to cooperate, to put our forces together in order to succeed. Therefore, I think this event here (The African International Defence Exhibition) is a very important event and we should combine our forces.

The Africa International Defence Exhibition would be the right avenue for the service chiefs, the chiefs of defence staff and the ministry of defence to collaborate and visit to determine what they can gain from the institutions or the development agencies that would be taking part in the exhibitions.

Because there is a lot that they would be promoting and more especially in the area of cyber warfare where you now have a big challenge for most of the African armies.

This would also be a great avenue for them to visit and understand exactly what they need and what can be provided. And we are to get it with the right institutions to approach.

Cyber Exhibitors. I believe this is really important for AFRIDEX because the world is currently experiencing hybrid and asymmetric warfare.

Nigeria is relying on digital infrastructure and is becoming heavily reliant if we look at the telephone networks which support mobile banking and finance and underpin the economy.

These networks are susceptible to nation-state attacks or acts of war and it's very important that cyber security firms join AFRIDEX and actually support Africa's agenda in being digitally secure.