Nigeria’s Role in World War Two

July 2025

Question

Provide an overview of Nigeria’s role in World War Two including (where possible) general information pertaining to: Nigerian troop contributions; deployment locations; casualty rates. Specifically, the review should include information pertaining Nigerian troops, as part of the 1st West African Division, who were involved in the East African Campaign against Italian forces, where they achieved the fastest advance in military history.

Summary

This K4DD Rapid Evidence Review collates available evidence on Nigeria’s role in World War Two.

The review draws upon an eclectic evidence base that includes historic sources of information, contemporary accounts and both academic and grey literature. The evidence base is limited and diffuse in relation to the contribution of Nigerian (and African) soldiers during World War Two.

Despite these limitations, this review highlights evidence that Nigerians served in significant numbers, across multiple theatres of conflict, in a range of roles and with distinction.