Gautier Mignot, European Union (AU) ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, says Russia has been recruiting Nigerians and other Africans in its war against Ukraine.
Mignot spoke on Tuesday during the Channels Television’s The Morning Brief as the Russia-Ukraine war reaches its fourth year.
Earlier this month, Abubakar Adamu, a Nigerian man, appealed to the federal government to urgently move for his repatriation from Russia over claims that he was lured into the Russian army under the guise of employment as a security guard.
Adamu’s legal representatives said he travelled to Moscow on a tourist visa issued on October 16, 2025, by the Russian embassy in Abuja.
When he arrived in Russia, his travel documents were reportedly confiscated and he was forced to sign enlistment papers written entirely in Russian language, without an interpreter.
Adamu later discovered that he had been enlisted into the Russian army.
Adamu’s appeal came as investigators uncovered dozens of cases of Africans allegedly recruited by the Kremlin into the war.
Reacting to the reports, Mignot noted women have also been caught in the reported shady deals.
“There is another important phenomenon which is impacting Africa, which is recruitment of African men and women by Russia. Women to be sent and work in military plants in Russia and men to be sent as cannon fodder on the front. Of course they are being lured with job promises,” the envoy said.
Mignot said the EU had received testimonies for “quite some time” but noted that the validating global reports by civil society organisations showed that the situation is “a growing phenomenon”.
“Russia is also running out of soldiers… and this is extremely cruel sending these people, who have absolutely nothing to do with this war, to die on the front,” Mignot said.
He added that some recruits have already been captured by Ukrainian forces.
The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine had said it found bodies of two Nigerians in its Luhansk region, who were allegedly fighting on Russia’s side in the ongoing war.
The Nigerians identified as Hamzat Kazeem Kolawole, 42, and Mbah Stephen Udoka, 38, died in late November 2025 — few months after joining the Russian army.
Russia has denied the allegations, calling them unfounded.
However, Mignot noted that testimonies from African recruits support the claims and said Russia’s denial reflects an unwillingness to stop the practice.
Meanwhile, the federal government has warned citizens against illegal recruitment into foreign armed conflicts, citing rising cases of Nigerians allegedly being lured abroad under false pretences and forced into combat roles.
The government said it is engaging domestic and international partners to investigate the recruitment networks and raise public awareness about the dangers of such schemes.
