The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is the officer cadets training institution in Nigeria. It was established in January 1964 in response to one of the defence needs of the then newly independent Nigeria to train Nigerian Cadets for commission into the 3 armed services, the Army, Navy and Air Force. The initial training team comprised mainly of Indian Army officers. Prior to this time, the institution was called the Royal Military Forces Training College (RMFTC). Upon independence, it was renamed the Nigerian Military Training College (NMTC). In its 40 years of existence, NDA has undergone several significant transformations. In 1978, the training team became fully indigenised while in 1985 NDA was upgraded to a degree awarding institution.

The total strength of cadets at inception was 62 only. Presently the number of cadets is about 1,500. Although the duration of training for the Regular Combatant Course is still 5 years, a new 4 year programme commenced from the 2002/2003 academic session. NDA has since 1981 also been involved in the training of cadets from some other friendly nations based on bilateral agreements.