The Federal Government has stated that it would not accept the reported planned recruitment of Nigerians into the Ukrainian Army to fight as volunteers against Russia in the ongoing war between the two countries.
This comes after claims that over 200 Nigerians applied at the Ukrainian embassy in Abuja, where they were allegedly requested to pay $1,000 in visa fees and a plane ticket to Ukraine.
The government, in a statement made yesterday by Fransica Omayuli, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed displeasure with this development and promised to put a stop to it.
The statement read, “The attention of the Federal Government of Nigeria has been drawn to an alleged ongoing registration of Nigerian volunteers into the fighting force of Ukraine at the Ukrainian Embassy in Abuja.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted the Embassy to verify the speculation. The Ukrainian Embassy refuted the allegation but confirmed that several Nigerians had approached the Embassy indicating their willingness to fight on the side of Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia.
“Furthermore, the Embassy clarified that the Ukrainian government is not admitting foreign volunteer fighters and as such dissociated itself from the claim that it is requesting $1,000 from each Nigerian volunteer for air ticket and visa.”
The statement said further that as a responsible member of the international community and consistent with her obligations under international law, Nigeria discourages the use of mercenaries anywhere in the world and will not tolerate the recruitment of Nigerians as mercenaries to fight in Ukraine or anywhere else in the world.
“The federal government will continue to engage with the Embassy of Ukraine in Nigeria and other relevant authorities to prevent this possibility,” it added.
Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency reports that more than 1.7 million people have left Ukraine’s war.
Thousands more are expected to cross the border, according to the report.
According to the UNHCR, a total of 1,735,068 individuals, predominantly women, and children, have crossed the border into Central Europe.
Since the crisis began on February 24, Poland has taken in over one million Ukrainian refugees. If Russia’s bombing of Ukraine continues, the European Union might witness up to five million Ukrainian refugees, according to Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat.
