The Federal Government and senior professionals from defence, security and law enforcement agencies have called for the development of modern shooting ranges to enhance marksmanship, tactical proficiency and sustained operational readiness.
The call was made at the National and Regional Defence Shooting Range Development Workshop held in Abuja on Tuesday.
Participants emphasised that contemporary shooting ranges are far more sophisticated than traditional facilities and require careful planning, robust safety systems, ballistic containment measures, environmental controls and long-term sustainability frameworks.
Speaking at the workshop, the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (Rtd), described modern shooting ranges as critical national security infrastructure rather than peripheral assets.
Represented by Air Vice Marshal Amos Bulus (Rtd), Special Adviser on Technology and Digital Integration, the Minister said innovation in defence infrastructure goes beyond technology, stressing that it also requires the right mindset, collaboration and commitment to improvement.
He noted that shooting ranges are foundational to professional military development.
“They are where discipline is sharpened, confidence is built and operational errors are reduced long before personnel encounter real-world threats,” he said.
According to him, modern shooting ranges are no longer merely open spaces with targets but complex systems that demand careful engineering, comprehensive safety architecture, environmental responsibility and structured lifecycle management.
He warned that poorly designed or inadequately managed facilities could undermine training objectives, waste public resources and expose personnel to avoidable risks.
Properly designed ranges, he added, enhance training effectiveness, improve safety standards and preserve long-term institutional readiness.
In his remarks, the Director-General of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), Major General Babatunde Ibrahim Alaya, described shooting ranges as controlled training environments where precision, discipline and safety converge.
“When properly designed and professionally managed, they provide structured platforms for marksmanship improvement, tactical drills, weapons-handling proficiency and skills sustainment,” he said.
He stressed that modern range development requires rigorous attention to ballistic containment systems, environmental controls, indoor ventilation engineering, noise abatement, structural integrity and lifecycle maintenance planning.
Earlier, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of DICON Gray Insignia Ltd, Ibrahim Garba, said the workshop was designed to promote shared standards and improve operational outcomes across Nigeria’s security architecture.
Garba observed that threat dynamics are increasingly shifting from conventional battlefields to villages and residential environments, underscoring the need for improved training facilities aligned with the contemporary threat environment.
He said the workshop examined modern warfare trends, range types and operational applications, cost drivers and lifecycle considerations, as well as the West African and ECOWAS context, with the aim of developing a Nigeria-specific roadmap for sustainable shooting range development.
Linus Aleke
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