President Bola Tinubu has assented to the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) Bill, 2023.
The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria was established on August 1, 1964, by an Act of Parliament and revised as the DICON Act in Chapter 94 of the Laws of the Federation, 2004.
The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Act, 2023, repeals the previous iteration of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Act and empowers the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria to operate, maintain, and control subsidiaries and ordnance factories to manufacture, store, and dispose of ordnance and ancillary stores and material.
The new act also established the Defence Industry Technology, Research, and Development Institute (DITRDI) to create an elaborate scientific and research-based technological foundation for Nigeria’s defence industry through the leveraging of combined, multi-disciplinary research from multiple military research institutes for application that leads to commercialization and the development of new military technology and capacity in Nigeria.
The act provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for the regulation of the manufacturing, distribution, storage, and disposal of defence articles in Nigeria.
According to Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Bill, 2023, was sponsored by the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Defence, Babajimi Benson (APC, Ikorodu Federal Constituency).