The Story of a Nigerian Citizen Fighting in the Ukraine War
A Nigerian citizen named Kehinde Oluwagbemileke has recently been captured by Ukrainian forces while reportedly fighting for the Russian military in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. This incident highlights a growing concern about the involvement of foreign nationals, particularly from African countries, in the war.
Oluwagbemileke was apprehended by the Freedom of Russia Legion, a group composed of Russian fighters supporting Ukraine. According to reports, he was captured in the Zaporizhzhia region after serving with Russian forces for five months. Before his capture, he had been living in Russia for four years and was arrested on drug-related charges. It is claimed that he joined the Russian military campaign as an exchange for a reduced sentence instead of serving time under Article 228 of the Russian Criminal Code.
The organization behind these claims, “I Want to Live,” stated that Kehinde is one of thousands of mercenaries from third-world countries recruited by Russia’s Defence Ministry to fight in Ukraine. They have published data on nearly 7,000 foreign fighters from 14 countries, but they believe this number represents only a fraction of the foreigners sent by the Kremlin to die in Ukraine.
Kehinde, who described himself as a translator, revealed during an interrogation that his family back home was unaware of his involvement in the war. In an interrogation video shared by the legion, he mentioned that there were people from South America, Africa, and China in his team. When asked about the number of Africans in the team, he said, “Africans, four people. With me, five—Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon.”
Previous Claims of Russia Enlisting Nigerians
In 2023, Reuters reported that the mercenary group Wagner had recruited several African citizens as part of a drive to enlist convicts from Russian prisons for its forces in Ukraine. The news agency traced the story of three men from Tanzania, Zambia, and the Ivory Coast. In June 2024, reports emerged that Moscow was enlisting convicts from its prisons, while some Africans in Russia on work visas have been detained and forced to choose between deportation or fighting.
A Bloomberg report alleged that Russia has been forcing African students to join the fight against Ukraine before getting a renewal for their visas. According to Yevgeny Primakov, head of Rossotrudnichestvo, an organization devoted to spreading knowledge about Russia abroad, there are 35,000-37,000 African students currently in Russia.
The report suggested that Moscow is sending thousands of migrants and foreign students, including Nigerians, to fight alongside its troops in the war against Ukraine. Some Africans in Russia on work visas have been detained and forced to decide between deportation or fighting. A European official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said some of those people had been able to bribe officials to stay in the country and still avoid military service.
Russia’s practice of sending migrants and students into battle under duress dates back to earlier in the war. Those troops suffer especially high casualty rates because they are increasingly deployed in risky offensive maneuvers to protect more highly trained units, the official added.
Nigerian Government’s Response
No information on the claims yet – FG
Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, declined to speak on the issue, stating he is yet to receive an official communication from the Nigerian mission in Moscow. He emphasized the importance of not responding in error and urged the correspondent to wait for official communication from the Nigerian Mission in Moscow first.
While noting that there have always been allegations of Nigerians fighting for either Ukraine or Russia in their ongoing war, he said the country has not been able to confirm any of those claims till now. Some reports even claimed that the Nigerian government collected money from Russia to send its youths to go and die in their war, which he called false.
In 2024, when the allegation of Russia using Nigerians to fight its war first started, the Federal Government dismissed it, stating that it was in communication with Nigerians in the European country. The statement read:
“The attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been drawn to news articles published by several Nigerian media outlets on Monday 10th June 2024 informing the public that the Russian Government is engaging Nigerian and other African students to participate in the ongoing war with Ukraine with the promise of visa renewals.”
“The Ministry wishes to inform that the Nigerian Embassy in Moscow is in close communication with the executives of the Nigerian Students Association in Moscow, Russia, and there has not been any reported case of conscription of Nigerian students, nor indeed of other African students to fight in the aforementioned war. The newspaper reports are therefore false and misleading and should therefore be disregarded.”
Criticism from Ex-Ambassadors
It is wrong to force foreigners into war – ex ambassadors
Ambassador Suleiman Dahiru, a retired diplomat, criticized Russia for allegedly conscripting foreigners, especially Nigerians, into its war with Ukraine. While speaking in a telephone interview, he said, “It is totally wrong for Russia to force any foreigner to join the war, whether it is to make things easy for them or not, they don’t have that right.”
He acknowledged that many Nigerians in the diaspora were in custody over one offence or the other, but he believed they should rather be deported than be forced to execute a war. “They have every right to refuse to do any military service, even if it means deporting them,” he said.
On his part, Nigeria’s former envoy to Singapore, Ambassador Ogbole Amedu-Ode, said only a thorough investigation could ascertain the situation, adding that, “it’s highly likely also that yes, it happens and that the guy (Oluwagbemileke) must have been conscripted and then that would lead to a reduced prison sentence.”
