The Defence Industries Cooperation of Nigeria (DICON) has resumed the production of arms and ammunition years after it suspended operations.

Its Director-General, Maj.-Gen. Aniedi Edet, made the declaration in Jos on Tuesday when he visited Maj.-Gen. Abdusalam Abubakar, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division of the Nigerian Army.

The corporation’s 24th director-general said it was undergoing some reforms aimed at meeting its statutory mandates.

“DICON was established in 1964 and mandated to produce enough to meet the defence needs of the entire armed forces and other security agencies.

“Over the years, DICON has been doing its best to meet these needs, but people feel it should do more.

“We have resumed the production of ammunition which has been stalled for some time. As we speak, we are churning out a good batch of 7.6 by 55mm rounds of ammunition.

“In January, DICON supplied about four million rounds of ammunition to the Nigerian Army and it is assembling some range of weapons; these are very nice weapons that will enhance its operations,’’ he said.

Edet added that the signing of the DICON Bill into law by President Bola Tinubu in November 2023 would enable it to build a military-industrial complex with DICON as the hub.

“This will enable us to incorporate so many defence-related industries in Nigeria which have the potential and capability to meet the country’s defence needs.

“This simply means that DICON needs to build a robust partnership with relevant government agencies and organisations to achieve its mandate,’’ he said.