The Nigerian Army has commissioned a state-of-the-art Wargaming Centre at the Army War College Nigeria (AWCN), Asokoro, Abuja, in a major move aimed at enhancing strategic planning, operational readiness and national security through advanced military education and simulation.
The facility, inaugurated on Thursday, June 25, 2026, by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, is expected to serve as a centre for operational analysis, joint planning, doctrine development and decision-making, enabling military commanders to better prepare for Nigeria’s evolving security challenges.
Speaking during the commissioning ceremony, Lieutenant General Shaibu described the project as a strategic investment in professional military education and institutional capacity development. He noted that the country’s increasingly dynamic security environment requires military leaders who are not only courageous in combat but also possess the intellectual capacity to anticipate threats, analyse complex situations and make sound decisions under pressure.
According to the Army Chief, wargaming has become an indispensable military planning tool that allows commanders to simulate operational scenarios, evaluate multiple courses of action and predict likely responses from adversaries before actual deployment.
He explained that the new Wargaming Centre would provide a platform for developing innovative solutions to Nigeria’s security challenges through detailed operational experimentation, strategic research and rigorous analysis.
Addressing participants, Shaibu challenged military strategists and researchers at the Army War College to focus on developing practical solutions to the growing problem of mass abductions across Nigeria. He described kidnapping, particularly in rural communities and schools, as one of the country’s most pressing and evolving security threats.
The COAS urged the institution to explore how wargaming techniques can be used to improve responses to mass kidnappings in Nigeria’s vast forested areas, stressing that conventional military approaches alone may not be sufficient to tackle the challenge.
He also tasked the college with examining the potential impact of the proposed state police system on Nigeria’s security architecture, encouraging military experts to study how such a structure could influence operational coordination, command systems and emergency response capabilities. In addition, he called for research into improving collaboration between the military, police and other security agencies to enhance rapid response operations across the country.
Lieutenant General Shaibu acknowledged the contributions of previous Army leadership whose vision laid the foundation for the project and commended the Commandant of the Army War College, Major General Umar Alkali, along with members of the faculty for proactively acquiring advanced wargaming expertise through engagements with allied military institutions even before the completion of the facility.
Earlier, the Commandant, Major General Umar Alkali, expressed appreciation to the Chief of Army Staff for his unwavering support in completing and equipping the Centre with modern wargaming infrastructure.
He explained that the facility would provide a realistic and intellectually stimulating environment where participants can test campaign plans, evaluate force deployment concepts, examine alternative operational strategies and assess the likely outcomes of strategic decisions through both manual and computer-assisted wargames.
According to Alkali, the Centre will also facilitate the integration of land, maritime, air, cyber and information domains into joint operational scenarios, significantly improving interoperability and joint operations within the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
Beyond military training, he said the Wargaming Centre has been designed to support doctrine development, concept validation, operational research and strategic-level analysis, positioning the Army War College as a leading institution for professional military education.
The newly commissioned complex features two large wargaming halls, four exercise rooms, three theatre laboratories, ten syndicate rooms, a conference room, a library, a digital server room and other supporting infrastructure equipped to meet modern military planning requirements.
Also speaking at the event, the Director of War and Strategy at the Army War College, Brigadier General Eyitayo Shoda, disclosed that the institution has already developed indigenous wargaming models tailored to Nigeria’s unique security environment. He said the models cover counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, joint military operations and other strategic national security scenarios, providing military planners with structured platforms to test ideas, challenge assumptions and evaluate operational options before implementation.
The Nigerian Army said the Wargaming Centre is expected to significantly enhance its capacity to anticipate future threats, strengthen strategic planning, improve combat decision-making and generate innovative solutions that will contribute to the achievement of Nigeria’s national security and defence objectives.
