OUR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
POWERING THE FUTURE OF INDUSTRIAL INNOVATION
About DICON
The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) was established in 1964 by an Act of the Nigerian National Assembly, with a West German manufacturing firm engaged to provide technical expertise and set up its ordnance factory in Kaduna. Operated by the Nigerian Armed Forces, DICON has historically produced munitions, small arms, artillery and explosives for Nigeria’s military and security agencies, including licensed local production of the FN/Beryl-pattern assault rifle.
In 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the DICON Act 2023, a legislative overhaul expanding the corporation’s production capacity and, for the first time, opening it to joint ventures with private-sector manufacturers under a national Military Industrial Complex framework. Buckler is one of the earliest companies to enter that framework alongside DICON.
Nigeria’s state-run defence manufacturer, and Buckler’s partner in scaling local production.
What The Partnership
Covers
Areas of collaboration between Buckler and DICON under the joint-venture agreement.
Joint Production
Collaborative production of military hardware for the Nigerian Army and allied security agencies.
Active
Sovereign Capability
Reinforcing Nigeria’s Military Industrial Complex under the DICON Act 2023 framework.
Active
Export Capacity
Supporting allied armed forces elsewhere in Africa through excess production capacity.
Active
Facility Integration
Anchored around Buckler Land Systems’ 180,000 sq ft Military Equipment Production Complex in Epe, Lagos.
Active
Institutional Engagement
Ongoing site visits and technical exchange between DICON leadership and Buckler Land Systems.
Active
Partnership Timeline
Key milestones in the relationship between Buckler and DICON.
Facility Assessment
A DICON delegation, led by then-Director-General Major General A.E. Edet, visits Buckler Land Systems’ Lagos headquarters and production facilities to assess capability for partnership.
MOU Signed
Buckler Systems Limited signs a Memorandum of Understanding with DICON — one of three companies to do so under the new DICON Act 2023 framework.
Factory Groundbreaking
The MOU coincides with the groundbreaking of Buckler Land Systems’ 180,000 sq ft Military Equipment Production Complex in Lagos.
Continued Engagement
DICON’s Director-General Major General B.I. Alaya visits Buckler’s headquarters and Epe complex, reinforcing the partnership under Nigeria’s Military Industrial Complex programme.
LEADERSHIP
Years In The Making
Buckler’s leadership has described the partnership as the outcome of groundwork that began years before the MOU was signed — positioning the Group not just to supply Nigeria’s armed forces, but to support allied forces elsewhere in Africa as local production capacity continues to scale.
Our ambition is simple: to manufacture more of what Africa needs, within Africa.