The federal government of Nigeria has refuted claims that Nigerian students in Russia are being forcibly sent to the war front in Ukraine in exchange for visa renewals.
In a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spokesperson Amb. Eche Abu-Obe debunked these reports, emphasizing that no Nigerian students or other African students have been recruited to fight in the conflict as previously alleged.
The Ministry’s statement highlighted that the Nigerian embassy in Moscow maintains close communication with the executives of the Nigerian Students’ Association in Moscow.
“There have been no reported cases of recruitment of Nigerian students or other African students to fight in the war,” Abu-Obe assured.
This denial comes in response to earlier reports suggesting that foreign students and thousands of migrants in Russia were being coerced into joining the military for visa renewal purposes.
According to a Bloomberg report, Russia allegedly threatened to deny visa renewals to African students and young workers unless they agreed to enlist.
Further reports citing Ukrainian intelligence claimed that Russia has been conducting a global recruitment drive to enlist foreign mercenaries from at least 21 countries, including several African nations.
The Nigerian government urged the public to disregard such misinformation and appealed to media outlets to exercise due diligence and verify information before disseminating it to the public.
