Following Nigeria’s independence in 1960, Türkiye opened an Embassy in Lagos, then capital of Nigeria, in August 1962. Turkish Embassy moved to Abuja in 2001 after the proclamation of Abuja as the new capital in 1991.

Both countries are members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Developing Eight (D-8) and they maintain close cooperation in international organizations.

Former Turkish President H.E. Abdullah Gül participated in D-8 Summit and paid an official bilateral visit to Nigeria in July 2010. This was the first visit at the level of President from Türkiye to Nigeria.

Former Nigerian President H.E. Goodluck Jonathan, accompanied by 10 Minister, 5 State Governors and other high level executives, visited Türkiye in February 2011.

Former Nigerian Foreign Minister H.E. Aminu Bashir Wali addressed 7 ^th Ambassadors’ Conference, had a meeting with H.E. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs and was received by H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Türkiye within the framework of the visit he paid to Türkiye on 8 January 2015.

President Erdoğan paid an official visit to Nigeria on 1-3 March 2016. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Minister of Economy, Minister of Environment and Urban Planning and Minister of Defence have accompanied the President. During the visit, Türkiye-Nigeria Business Forum was organized.

Nigerian President H.E. Muhammadu Buhari paid an official visit to Türkiye on October 19, 2017. The President was accompanied by Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Defence, Education, Industry, Trade and Investment as well as the National Security Adviser. President Buhari also visited the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye and met with the then Speaker of the National Assembly Mr. İsmail Kahraman. President Buhari later attended the Ninth D-8 Summit in Istanbul on October 20, 2017.

Commercial and economic relations between the two countries have also been improving rapidly. In 2019, bilateral trade volume between Türkiye and Nigeria was 725,654 million US Dollars.

Turkish Airlines has 7 direct flights per week to Lagos and Abuja. Flights to Port-Harcourt has started as of 29 June 2019. Turkish Airlines also has cargo flights to Lagos and Kano 3 times per week.

Türkiye grants scholarships to Nigerian students since 1992.