By Ipole Amajama
On February 10, 2026, the Russian Ambassador to Nigeria, Andrey Podyelyshev, in the characteristic character of the Kremlin denied reports detailing how Nigerians are being recruited to fight in the ongoing vexatious war against Ukraine. Ambassador Podyelyshev described the claims as misleading and unconnected to the Russian government.
He further denied that there is no state-backed programme involving Nigerian citizens in the conflict, stressing that any such activities would be illegal.
“If some illegal individuals are trying to recruit Nigerians to fight in Ukraine, this is not connected with the Russian state,” Podyelyshev said, adding that Moscow would forward any credible information to Russian law enforcement authorities for investigation.
But the fact remains that the Russian envoy was telling barefaced lies. The Russian Federation through propaganda and false promise of “better life” have been luring Nigerians and Africans in general to Russia where they end up as fodders in the intractable war against Kyiv. Data does not lie, not manufactured one at least. Adekunle Adaramola, a former personnel of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Adam Anas, Akinlawon Tunde Quyuum, Abugu Stanley Onyeka and Balogun Ridwan Adisa, all were lured to Moscow and all are now dead in combat for Russia. Each one of them were recruited on the false pretense of “security job” but ended up being conscripted and deployed to the war front after three weeks of training.
There are hundreds of other Africans who have fallen prey to Moscow’s bait and have paid the supreme price with only but a few with scars to tell the story.
A keen follower of global affairs, especially Russia’s, should not be surprised at the denial of culpability by Ambassador Podyelyshev. For at the heart of Moscow’s aggression against Kyiv is disinformation and propaganda. The Global Engagement Center (GEC) at the U.S. Department of State Russia’s notes that Russia’s disinformation and propaganda ecosystem is the collection of official, proxy, and unattributed communication channels and platforms that Moscow uses to create and amplify false narratives. The GEC identified five main pillars of the ecosystem: official government communications, state-funded global messaging, cultivation of proxy sources, weaponization of social media, and cyber-enabled disinformation. What Russia’s envoy to Nigeria did when he met with the media on the obvious enticement of Nigerians and black Africans to fight in its war against Ukraine fits into official government communications and state-funded global messaging.
While one was not there to press the ambassador on his claims, the Nigerian media needs to be alert and be more probing in demanding answers to the lies being peddled by those in Moscow and its embassies around the world.
The questions Podyelyshev ought to provide answers to are: Are they Nigerians and other Africans fighting on the side of Russia against Ukraine? If yes, which it is, how did these Africans end up in the Russian army? If there are illegal recruitments, why has the Russian government not brought those responsible for these illegal recruitments to book? Is he aware that deaths have been duly reported by relatives of the deceased? Is he too ashamed to admit to the fact and have no remorse over the international crime? Ambassador Podyelyshev like those in Moscow holds these men in utter disdain not just because they are dead, but because they see Africans, blacks, as sub-humans that are expendables in a war that is not theirs to fight.
It is pertinent to stress that the Russians have become artful propagandists as evident in the led up to the invasion of Ukraine. Take for instance the phrase that was dominant before the war against Kyiv: “For eight years they bombed Donbas!” The Kremlin’s messaging before and during the conflict flows through social media platforms such as Telegram and approved publications from RIA Novosti to TASS. It has included amplifying the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch’s blessing of the war and falsely claiming Ukrainian political leaders are Nazis.
If they could do this to those with near-common ancestry, then there is little value for Nigerians and Africans to Putin’s Russia. There is the demand, now more than ever, that the Nigerian government and other governments on the continent pay close attention to what is going on and demand answers from Moscow. If indeed Abuja is a veritable partner with Moscow, then Nigerians cannot be human shields for Russia’s military in the war against Ukraine. Nigeria needs to demand respect and reciprocity. To continue to ignore the illegal recruitment of Nigerians is akin to a second slavery expedition all over again. This is inexcusable!
Time is running out as Moscow suffers huge losses on the frontlines and with the North Koreans heading home, the demand for more Nigerians and Africans to fight Putin’s war will undoubtly increase. The Nigerian government and civil society should demonstrate all seriousness by creating the necessary awareness against any “lucrative” job offers from Moscow as they ultimately amount to a death sentence.
Amajama, a social affairs analyst, writes from Abuja @ ipoamajama@gmail.com
