Russia has dismissed allegations that it operates any state-backed scheme to recruit Nigerians for combat roles in the ongoing war in Ukraine, describing such claims as unfounded and disconnected from official government policy.
Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday, the Russian Ambassador to Nigeria, Andrey Podyolyshev, said Moscow has no programme authorising the recruitment of Nigerians to fight on the Ukrainian frontlines. His comments followed circulating reports and videos alleging that some Nigerians and other Africans were enticed to Russia with offers of security-related employment, only to be deployed to the conflict zone after limited training.
“There is no government-supported programme to recruit Nigerians to fight in Ukraine,” Podyolyshev said. “If there are illegal organisations or individuals trying to recruit Nigerians by unlawful means, this is not connected with the Russian state.”
The ambassador said Russian authorities were prepared to investigate any substantiated claims brought forward.
“If anybody has this information, we are ready to send it to Russian law enforcement authorities so they can investigate those cases,” he added.
Podyolyshev also questioned the credibility of reports by Western media outlets, including a recent investigation by CNN, which alleged that Nigerians were misled into joining the conflict.
“You are receiving information from Western sources. Their main task is to demonise Russia. If you want to know the real situation, you should send journalists to Russia to understand what is really happening,” he said.
While acknowledging that some Nigerians may be present in the war zone, the ambassador insisted their involvement was not the result of any official Russian policy.
“There are such Nigerians, I know, but there is no government-supported programme to recruit them. If there are agencies, including Russian agencies, violating Russian law, we are ready to transmit this information to our law enforcement authorities,” Podyolyshev said.
