Nigeria Warns Citizens Against Foreign Enlistment Amid Reports of Deaths in Ukraine Source: BB
Nigeria warns citizens against being misled into fighting in foreign conflicts after reports of deaths in Ukraine.
- Nigerians reportedly coerced into military contracts and sent to war zones.
- Travel documents confiscated and contracts often in foreign languages.
- Government urges caution and strengthens consular support abroad.
Nigeria’s foreign ministry has issued an urgent warning to citizens about what it describes as a growing trend of illegal recruitment into foreign conflicts.
The alert follows reports from Ukrainian officials that the bodies of two Nigerians, said to have been killed in combat last year, were recently discovered in Ukraine. Nigerian authorities have not independently confirmed the deaths.
In a statement on Sunday, foreign ministry spokesperson Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa said several Nigerians had been misled into signing military service contracts and subsequently deployed to active combat zones.
According to the ministry, investigations suggest that recruiters lured victims with promises of lucrative jobs, security work, educational opportunities or migration pathways. Instead, some reportedly found themselves in war zones after signing contracts written in foreign languages without legal guidance.
Officials also allege that in certain cases, travel documents were confiscated upon arrival, and intermediaries facilitated trips using tourist or other non-military visas.
The ministry cautioned that such arrangements not only endanger lives but may also breach Nigerian and international laws governing mercenary activity and foreign enlistment. It added that the government is collaborating with domestic and international partners to investigate the matter and intensify public awareness campaigns.
Nigeria’s diplomatic missions abroad have been instructed to strengthen consular assistance and issue advisories to citizens.
Ukrainian intelligence estimates that more than 1,400 individuals from 36 African countries have been recruited to fight for Russia. Meanwhile, Ukraine has also faced criticism in the past over efforts to enlist foreign nationals, including Africans, to support its war effort.
Across the continent, governments have stepped up warnings and sought to repatriate citizens allegedly deceived into joining the conflict. Last week, South Africa announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had pledged assistance in returning South African nationals who travelled to Ukraine to fight for Russian forces.
Retired Nigerian military expert Maj Bashir Galma told the BBC that the recruitment of Africans into foreign wars is not new.
“Even during the Yugoslavia crisis years ago, we saw similar patterns,” he said, lamenting that young people continue to fall victim to deceptive recruitment schemes and risk their lives in conflicts that have little direct relevance to them.
