No case of Nigerian college students enlisted in Ukraine conflict – FG
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has firmly rejected reports suggesting that Nigerian college students in Russia had been being coerced into becoming a member of the continued battle with Ukraine in change for visa renewals.
According to Bloomberg’s Monday report, Russia purportedly sought to enlist hundreds of migrants and international college students to strengthen its troops within the conflict in opposition to Ukraine, adopting ways much like these employed by the Wagner mercenary group.
European officers reportedly assessed this example, claiming that the Kremlin was threatening to not prolong visas for African college students and younger employees until they agreed to hitch the army.
Yevgeny Primakov, head of Rossotrudnichestvo, an organisation targeted on spreading data about Russia overseas, estimated that there are at the moment 35,000-37,000 African college students in Russia.
In response to those allegations, the Ministry refuted them as “false and misleading,” as reported by a number of Nigerian media retailers on June 10, 2024.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Ambassador Eche Abu-Obe, in an announcement on Tuesday, emphasised that there have been no reported instances of Nigerian or different African college students being conscripted into the battle.
The ministry urged media retailers to train due diligence in verifying info earlier than disseminating it to the general public.
“The consideration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been drawn to information articles revealed by a number of Nigerian media retailers on Monday, June 10, 2024, informing the general public that the Russian Government is partaking Nigerian and different African college students to take part within the ongoing conflict with Ukraine with the promise of visa renewals.
“The Ministry needs to tell that the Nigerian Embassy in Moscow is in shut communication with the executives of the Nigerian Students Association in Moscow, Russia and there has not been any reported case of conscription of Nigerian college students nor certainly of different African college students to battle within the aforementioned conflict.
“The newspaper reports are, therefore, false and misleading and should therefore be disregarded. The Ministry wishes to seize this occasion to appeal to media outlets to exercise due diligence in the line of duty by verifying information at their disposal before releasing it to the public.”
