Nigeria Denies-Reports Of Students Sent To War-Front By Russia For Visa-Renewal (Details)

Nigeria Denies-Reports Of Students Sent To War-Front By Russia For Visa-Renewal (Details)

The federal government of Nigeria has denied reports that Nigerian students are being forcefully sent to the war front by Russia in exchange for visa renewals.

A statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, issued by its spokesperson, Amb. Eche Abu-Obe, refuted claims that Nigerian students were being deployed to fight in the Ukraine war as part of a visa renewal agreement. The statement clarified that the Nigerian embassy in Moscow is in close communication with the Nigerian Students’ Association executives in Moscow and confirmed that no cases of recruitment of Nigerian or other African students for the war have been reported.

The ministry urged the public to disregard such misinformation and called on media outlets to verify information before publishing.

Naija News reports that this clarification was issued in response to earlier reports suggesting that foreign students and thousands of migrants in Russia were being compelled to fight in the war against Ukraine in return for visa renewals.

According to a report by Bloomberg, Russia has been allegedly threatening not to renew the visas of African students and young workers unless they agree to join the military. Reports citing Ukrainian intelligence have also suggested that Russia has been conducting a global recruitment drive to enlist foreign mercenaries from at least 21 countries, including several nations in Africa.