By Enyichukwu Enemanna
A Nigerian national whose identity is yet to be ascertained as at the time of this report has been killed fighting on the battlefield for Russian forces against Ukraine, reports have said.
An investigative journalist Jaafar Jaafar and security analyst Zagazola Makama, confirmed the development on Monday.
The deceased had left his family in Northern Nigeria to enlist with the Russian army, Makama who described the incident as tragic stated.
“Sad. He left his family in Northern Nigeria to join Russia’s army to fight Ukraine. He was unfortunately killed in the battlefield,” Makama wrote on social media.
Images circulating online reportedly show the deceased alongside his children. This adds to high number of Africans recruited by Moscow to prosecute its war against Kyiv.
In 2022, the body of a Zambian student, Lemekani Nyirenda, who was studying nuclear engineering in Russia before joining the military was brought back to his country after his death during the war.
In December, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma resigned from parliament following allegations that she was involved in the recruitment of 17 men to fight for Russia as mercenaries in Ukraine, an allegation she denies.
The war, now in its fourth year since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced millions.
Russia has faced manpower shortages and has increasingly relied on foreign recruits, private military contractors, and allied militias to sustain its campaign.
In January 2025, two injured North Korean soldiers allegedly providing support for Russia were captured as prisoners of war by Ukrainian troops in Kursk Oblast.
Ukraine, meanwhile, continues to receive military and financial support from Western allies, including the United States and European Union.
