Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, has met Rwandan President Paul Kagame to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation, promote indigenous military production and enhance joint responses to regional security threats.
Shaibu visited Kagame in Kigali on Thursday, October 22, 2026, conveying President Bola Tinubu’s goodwill and commending Rwanda’s progress in national reconstruction and institutional development following the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
The COAS also held separate meetings with Rwanda’s Minister of Defence, Chief of Defence Staff and Army Chief of Staff, Major General Vincent Nyakarundi, to explore military training, professional exchanges and other mutually beneficial defence partnerships.
At the Rwandan Engineering Manufacturing Company (REMCO), Shaibu praised Rwanda’s indigenous engineering and manufacturing capabilities, expressing interest in technical exchanges, collaborative research, knowledge transfer and defence production to strengthen Nigeria’s local manufacturing and equipment maintenance capacity.
He reaffirmed the Nigerian Army’s commitment to deeper cooperation with the Rwanda Defence Force through specialised training, joint exercises and defence technology partnerships, stressing that mutual trust and shared responsibility among African nations are essential to combating terrorism, violent extremism and cross-border threats.
