Nigeria warns citizens against scams after citizens tricked into fighting for Russia

Nigeria has warned its nationals against scams aimed at duping them into fighting abroad after reports that dozens have ended up fighting in the Russian army.

The Nigerian Foreign Ministry, in a statement, expressed “grave concern over the rising and alarming cases of Nigerian citizens being illegally recruited to participate in foreign armed conflicts”.

“Several Nigerians who have fallen victim to such unfortunate situations were deployed to combat zones after being misled and coerced into signing military service contracts,” it said.

Nigeria did not name Russia, but a report published last week by the investigative collective All Eyes on Wagner said at least 36 Nigerians have so far been recruited by the Russian army to fight in Ukraine, five of whom have been killed in combat.

Individuals from other countries, including Kenya, Uganda and South Africa, say they were promised well-paid jobs in Russia, but were later forced to sign contracts in Cyrillic and sent to the front.

Ukraine said in November it had identified at least 1,436 citizens from 36 African countries fighting for Russia.