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Nigeria Armed Forces (
Military Facilities)
 Compared
with its neighbors, Nigeria possessed overwhelming military strength. Its
sizeable and relatively well-equipped armed forces were capable of defending
the country against any likely external threat and of projecting power in
the region. In fact, prior to the Persian Gulf war of 1989-90, Nigeria was
the only country in west and central Africa to mount and sustain military
operations abroad. Although the army had been cut by more than one-half
since 1970, its firepower and mobility have increased considerably. The
other services have grown little, but their combat systems increased in
number and sophistication. The navy expanded its mission from coastal
defense to sea-lane protection and acquired modest amphibious and
antisubmarine warfare capabilities. Likewise, the NAF developed and improved
its capacity for ground attack, air support, interdiction, air defense,
airlift, and air mobility operations.
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Military branches:
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Army, Navy, Air
Force |
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Military manpower - military age and obligation:
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18 years of age
for voluntary military service (2001) |
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Military manpower - availability:
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males age
18-49: 26,804,314 (2005 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service:
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males age
18-49: 15,053,936 (2005 est.) |
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Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
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males:
1,353,161 (2005 est.)
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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$544.6 million
(2004) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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0.8% (2004) |
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Transnational Issues |
Nigeria |
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Disputes - international:
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ICJ ruled in 2002
on the entire Cameroon-Nigeria land and maritime boundary but
the parties formed a Joint Border Commission to resolve
differences bilaterally and have commenced with demarcation in
less-contested sections of the boundary, starting in Lake Chad
in the north; Nigeria initially rejected cession of the Bakassi
Peninsula, then agreed, but has yet to withdraw its forces while
much of the indigenous population opposes cession; in 2004, some
17,000 Nigerian refugees fleeing ethnic conflicts between
pastoralists and farmers in 2002 still reside in Cameroon; the
ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial
Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but
imprecisely defined coordinates in the ICJ decision, the
unresolved Bakasi allocation, and a sovereignty dispute between
Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of
the Ntem River all contribute to the delay in implementation; a
joint task force was established in 2004 that resolved disputes
over and redrew the maritime and the 870-km land boundary with
Benin on the Okpara River; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded
the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation
treaty which also includes Chad and Niger |
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Refugees and internally displaced persons:
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IDPs:
250,000 (communal violence between Christians and Muslims since
President OBASANJO's election in 1999) (2004) |
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Illicit drugs:
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a transit point
for heroin and cocaine intended for European, East Asian, and
North American markets; safehaven for Nigerian narcotraffickers
operating worldwide; major money-laundering center; massive
corruption and criminal activity; remains on Financial Action
Task Force Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories List for
continued failure to address deficiencies in money-laundering
control regime |
Source: CIA fact book
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