Essential Notes
- Reports that Nigerian students were being coerced into joining the Russian military before their visas were about to expire have been refuted by the Russian embassy in Nigeria.
- The federal government has denied earlier claims that said Russia was threatening to revoke the visas of Nigerian students.
- Approximately 6,500 African students are admitted to study for free in Russia each year.
The accusations that Nigerian students were being forcibly enlisted into the Russian military before their visas could be extended have been denied by the Russian Embassy in Nigeria.
Russia’s denial comes in the wake of a Bloomberg article published on Monday that claimed Russia is pressuring Nigerian students to fight against Ukraine before their visas are extended.
Russia said that these reports are untrue and harm collaboration in education.
Regarding this, Bloomberg had revealed that in exchange for the renewal of visas, Russia is purportedly sending thousands of migrants and international students, including Nigerians, to fight with its troops in the conflict with Ukraine.
The Russian Federal Government has refuted all untrue accusations made against it in response to these media stories.
“The Embassy of the Russian Federation is compelled to emphasize that such news is not only false but also damages Russian-Nigerian educational cooperation by misleading numerous scholarship and grant applicants as well as their partners, who could be extremely concerned by such fake.”
Russian Embassy in Nigeria
According to the Embassy, Nigerian students who wish to continue their studies in Russia may do so by extending their visas. It further stated that several associations of Nigerian students studying in Russia have not yet reported any problems getting the papers they need to stay in the nation.
“The Embassy welcomes the official press release of the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on this matter and expresses gratitude to the Ministry and the Association of Nigerian Students in Moscow for their efforts in debunking the fake news aimed at undermining the friendship and cooperation between Russia and Nigeria.”
Embassy of the Russian Federation
According to an EU official, Russia has also detained a number of Africans who had work visas.
An EU official claims that Moscow has also released prisoners from its facilities. Some Africans in Russia on work visas have also been imprisoned and made to choose between fighting or being deported at the same time. He added that individuals could pay officials to avoid going to war and to stay in the nation.
Under duress, Russia has been sending students and immigrants into combat since the start of the conflict. These soldiers experience notably elevated rates of casualties due to their frequent deployment in risky offensive maneuvers to safeguard more experienced units.
In 2023, the Wagner mercenary group enlisted the help of multiple African nationals in an attempt to rehabilitate prisoners from Russian jails for its soldiers operating in Ukraine.
According to Yevgeny Primakov, the director of Rossotrudnichestvo, a group devoted to promoting awareness of Russia overseas, there are between 35,000 and 37,000 African students studying in Russia at the moment. He went on to say that over 6,500 African students apply each year to study for free in Russia.