The Federal Government declared on Monday in Abuja that it would not fold its arms and allow Nigerians to be used or be recruited as mercenaries to fight in Ukraine.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made this known in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Francisca Omayuli.
“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.
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“The Ukrainian Embassy refuted the allegation but confirmed that a number of 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.
“It, therefore, dissociated itself from the claim that it is requesting one thousand dollars from each Nigerian volunteer for air ticket and visa.
“As a responsible member of the international community and consistent with our obligations under international laws, Nigeria discourages the use of mercenaries anywhere in the world.
“It will not tolerate the recruitment, in Nigeria, 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,’’ the ministry stated.
It noted that Nigeria’s decision not to allow the use or the recruitment of its citizens as mercenaries to fight in Ukraine or anywhere else in the world is in line with international laws.
Many Nigerians in Ukraine are refusing to come back even when the Federal Government had provided free transportation.
Those who returned were literally forced to do so.
“I’m going to stay here and see if the situation improves. Going back to Nigeria is not an option,” Desmond Muokwudo told the BBC.
To such Nigerians, life as refugee in Ukraine was far better than coming back to Nigeria.
“I will seek for student permit and continue my life from here,” Lukman Ibrahim, a student and artist who was able to flee Ukraine into Poland, told Channels Television. “Because home is not safe, everybody knows this.”
Pressed on what he meant by ‘not safe’, Ibrahim, who studied at the International European University in Kyiv before the invasion, alluded to the fuel scarcity that has been ravaging Nigeria for four weeks.
“You now expect me to come home and face the same thing when I just survived a war? I will never do that,” he said.
Emeka Nnamdi, who is stuck in Sumy, Ukraine, prefers to come back home, but only for a short while.
“I am currently doing my Masters here,” Nnamdi said.
“I finished my six years of medical school here. And I am doing a specialty course, which will take me three years. But if I’m doing a specialty course in Nigeria, it will take me more than five years, if not seven years. So why should I come home?”
NAN
