By Abdullahi Mukhtar Algasgaini
A report citing the Russian government’s denial of recruiting Nigerians to fight in Ukraine is facing direct challenge from evidence within Nigerian communities.
This follows an article published on 10 February 2026, which relayed the Russian Embassy’s statement refuting any state-sponsored recruitment program.
The rebuttal, provided by a Kaduna state resident, presents a concrete counter-narrative. The individual states that a neighbor, a Nigerian national, voluntarily enlisted in the Russian military, was deployed in connection with the Ukraine conflict, but he doesn’t detail his recruitment process and contract terms to family and community before leaving.
“This direct evidence renders the blanket denial incomplete and misleading,” the source wrote in a communication to the Daily Reality editorial team. The account suggests recruitment is operational through pathways potentially involving private military companies or intermediaries, even if not an official government scheme.
The source argues the situation of the four deceased Nigerians previously reported—Adam Anas, Akinlawon Tunde Quyuum, Abugu Stanley Onyeka, and Balogun Ridwan Adisa—may represent only the most tragic outcomes of a broader phenomenon.
The Russian Ambassador’s offer to investigate “illegal organisations or individuals” if provided details is cited as an implicit acknowledgment that the recruitment of Nigerians is occurring.
The challenge calls for amended reporting that separates diplomatic rhetoric from ground truth, proposing a revised summary.
The core issue, the source contends, is no longer if Nigerians are fighting, but how they are recruited, under whose authority, and with what safeguards. The families of those recruited and the Nigerian public, they state, require answers beyond a simple denial.