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, 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.

It provides for the establishment of the Defence Industry Technology, Research, and Development Institute to create an elaborate scientific and research-based technological foundation for Nigeria’s defence industry.

It also provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for the regulation of the manufacturing, distribution, storage, and disposal of defence articles in Nigeria.

It incentivises the development of a nuanced financing architecture that enables private capital to facilitate research, development, and production in the defence sector transparently and predictably.