At least four Nigerians allegedly recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine have been killed on the battlefield in Ukraine, according to sources familiar with the matter.
According to DAILY NIGERIAN, the slain Nigerians — Adam Anas, Akinlawon Tunde Quyuum, Abugu Stanley Onyeka and Balogun Ridwan Adisa — were recruited on the false pretence of a “security job” but ended up being conscripted and deployed to the war front after three weeks of training.
The Russian government has since denied issuing visas to Nigerians for the purpose of fighting for the country in Ukraine.
The newspaper quoted its sources as saying the Nigerian fighters died on the frontline on different dates between December 2025 and January 2026.
It claimed that the news of the death of the four Nigerians was first broken in a secret WhatsApp group opened by the African mercenaries.
The travails Mr Adam and his co-travellers began after an informal acceptance of the “security job offer” by a Nigerian agent identified as Emiola Muhammad.
The report claimed that the Russian Embassy in Abuja granted the Nigerian mercenaries a single-entry tourist visa without biometric capture and fulfilling other application requirements, adding that the mercenaries were promised a tempting monthly salary of 200,000 ruble (about 3.6million naira) as well as allowances and other perks.
When contacted for responses, the Russian Embassy in Abuja sent a link to its post on Facebook on the issue to our correspondent.
“The Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Federal Republic of Nigeria reiterates that there are no programs or projects supported or implemented by the government agencies that involve Nigerian citizens in combat activities in the Special Military Operation zone in Ukraine.
“No visas have been issued to Nigerian citizens for this purpose,” Russia said in a message on Facebook by its embassy in Nigeria on Tuesday.
Late last year, Ukraine claimed that more than 1,400 people from 36 African nations were fighting for Russia.
In November 2025, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the contracts Africans are forced to sign are equivalent to signing a death sentence.
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According to a December report by the French Institute of International Relations, Russian authorities confiscate African recruits’ passports and serve as cannon fodder in order to make incursions into dangerous frontiers.