00:0034-year-old Olabode Victor, a former Nigerian Navy officer, traveled to Russia after being
00:05promised a security job with a decent pay and fully processed paperwork. He signed a contract
00:11in late February 2026. Victor set out only to end up killed in fighting in Arask in the Khagiv
00:17region. Unfortunately, this is the fate of 485 African nationals, according to data published
00:24by StopRussianRecruiters.org on June 29, 2026. Out of these numbers, 215 were Nigerians and 25 of
00:32them are reported to either be dead or missing. Research shows that young Nigerians traveled to
00:37Russia with the hope of securing scholarships or jobs in supermarkets, factories or private security
00:43only to be handed rifles after three weeks of training. Unlike the government of other African
00:47countries such as Kenya and Zimbabwe, which have taken measures to cope this problem, the Nigerian
00:52government has done little or nothing about it. No arrest of recruiters, no repatriation of victims.
00:58While yes, there is a knot in the law, serving as a mercenary in foreign forces may be criminalized.
01:04However, cases involving deception, fraud or coercion should also be investigated as possible
01:10human trafficking. Rather than treating every victim simply as a criminal for being at least
01:14dead in the foreign force, some of these cases should be examined through the lens of human
01:18trafficking. The silence of the government is not neutrality. It is a second abandonment.
