On Wednesday, the Russian Embassy in Nigeria angrily refuted allegations that it was forcing African students—especially Nigerians—to take part in the ongoing war in Ukraine in exchange for extending their visas.
In line with the Wagner mercenary group's techniques, Russia allegedly attempted to recruit thousands of international students and migrants to supplement its military forces in the conflict with Ukraine, according to a story published by Bloomberg on Monday.According to reports, when evaluating the situation, European diplomats asserted that the Kremlin was threatening to withhold visa extensions for African youth and students unless they consented to enlist in the military.
There are currently between 35,000 and 37,000 African students studying in Russia, according to Yevgeny Primakov, the head of Rossotrudnichestvo, an organization dedicated to promoting awareness of Russia overseas.
However, the embassy stressed the possible harm that such false information could cause to the education and educational collaboration between Russia and Nigeria, denouncing the reports as fake news and wholly untrue.
The statement from the embassy states that no organization representing Nigerian students studying in Russia has backed up the claims. According to reports, Nigerian students studying in Russia have no trouble extending their visas.
The embassy reiterated its dedication to promoting friendship and collaboration between Russia and Nigeria and applauded the work of the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Association of Nigerian Students in Moscow in disproving the untrue allegations.
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"The Russian Federation's Embassy is compelled to emphasise that such news is not only false, but also damages the educational cooperation between Russia and Nigeria by misleading a large number of scholarship and grant applicants as well as their partners, who may be extremely concerned by such fakes," the statement stated.
According to the Embassy, extending a Nigerian student's visa to continue their studies in Russia is not a problem. Many associations of Nigerian students studying in Russia have reported no problems getting the documents they need to stay in the nation.
The Embassy thanks the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Association of Nigerian Students in Moscow for their efforts in dispelling false information that aims to damage the relationship and collaboration between Russia and Nigeria. It also welcomes the Ministry's official press release on the subject.
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