As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to unfold, a number of Nigerians have found themselves entangled in the war, often under dubious circumstances. Many of these individuals claim they were misled, coerced, or even lured into enlisting with the Russian military. Their accounts illuminate a clandestine recruitment network that stretches from the shores of West Africa to the frontlines of a brutal conflict. In this report, OGHENOVO EGODO-MICHAEL delves into the stories of these individuals, uncovering the complex motivations and dire consequences that have drawn them into a war far from their homeland
Just before joining the army in Russia, 30-year-old Kehinde Adisa was studying Urban Planning at the School of Economics, PRIK, Russia.
He had begun his studies virtually during the COVID-19 lockdown and relocated to Russia in 2021. Being on scholarship, he focused on his goal to study, return home and build a career. But in the summer of 2022, something unexpected happened.
Watching his peers earn extra cash as waiters or customer support agents, Adisa decided to venture into the gig economy.
After several applications, he landed a job as a dispatch rider. His first delivery was a simple bouquet.
He had called his sister, Jola (not real name), buzzing with the excitement of his first completed job. It was the last time Adisa's family heard that version of his voice.
"My mum noticed that she couldn't reach him by phone within 24 hours," his sister recalled in a shaky voice.
"When she noticed there was no response from him, I also reached out to him on WhatsApp and Telegram, but there was still no response. That was when she (mum) knew in her spirit that something was wrong.
"So, I reached out to some of his friends through social media. They broke the news that he had been arrested. There was no communication from him directly. It was through my findings that I was able to reach his friends."
Adisa was said to have delivered a package containing illegal substances. As a dispatch rider, he had no authority to inspect parcels. That delivery altered the trajectory of his life.
His sister insisted he would never knowingly deal in such substances, particularly given an undisclosed health condition.
For over two years in prison, there was no word from him and no official explanation.
In July 2025, the silence was broken by a video released by the Ukrainian "I Want to Live" project.
According to information on its website, "I Want to Live" is a Ukrainian government project for the treatment of prisoners of war, established with the backing of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine. The initiative aims to assist servicemen of the Russian armed forces who wish to surrender voluntarily.
In the footage, unkempt and visibly worn, Adisa sat beside a female soldier who administered first aid to him while asking how he ended up fighting for Russia.
He explained that he joined the military in a bid to secure an early release from his sentence under Article 228 of the Russian Criminal Code, after spending well over two years in a Russian prison.
His family knew nothing about the decision. He said he was initially assigned as a translator before eventually being deployed to the frontline.
The video shattered his sister, who made sure to keep it from their mother, already depressed from not knowing his whereabouts.
Their mother turned 64 in February.
"Last year, she cried throughout. That is how she has been crying since the incident. The fact that everything happened after her retirement took a huge toll on us. Anything regarding celebration, my mother is not interested. She would usually ask, 'What is my joy when my son is locked up somewhere I don't know?'" Adisa's sister revealed.
The daughter, a Client Relationship Manager, described herself as the strongest one still standing. Even so, she sometimes takes restroom breaks at work just to cry.
When Sunday PUNCH first reached out to her, she broke down in tears before any question could be completed.
During the interview, she avoided eye contact and often paused to steady herself.
She noted that emails had been sent to the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, the Nigerian Embassy in Russia, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, among others, but they were still awaiting a credible update.
The case takes an even more devastating turn with the story of Adaramola Adekunle, whose journey ended on the battlefield.
Unlike Adisa, whose fate remains uncertain, Adaramola's family now grapples with a loss that has been confirmed.
Adaramola's brother, Abiodun, announced his death in a Facebook post on December 2, 2025.
In an interview with our correspondent, he explained that Adaramola, who grew up in the Ogbomoso axis of Oyo State, had always been drawn to military life from as early as age 12.
"He had always intended to travel out of the country once he made enough money, regardless of the job he was doing at that moment," his brother added.
It was not surprising, then, that he eventually joined the Nigerian Air Force, where he served from 2017 until 2025. But that desire pulled him into dangerous territory.
Sometime in 2025, despite tearful pleas from their father, Adaramola made the decision to leave Nigeria for Russia. He had grown increasingly frustrated with what he described as poor remuneration in the Nigerian military.
When the opportunity to join the Russian army came through a friend he attended Osun State University with, it seemed like a breakthrough.
To him, it appeared to be a calculated risk, as he already had military experience and others without such a background were also signing up.
The promise included one year of service, substantial financial reward, and a pathway to Russian citizenship for himself and family members who shared his surname.
On October 4, 2025, he left Lagos with hope and quiet determination to lift his family out of poverty.
Subsequently, he was spotted in a Facebook video with another Nigerian soldier eating rice in a forest.
"This is ordinary rice with water. There is no protein or anything like that. We are in the Russian bush," they said, while also singing songs in Yoruba.
Back home, life continued in anticipation. He had a wife and three children. In a cruel twist of timing, he left Nigeria just a day before the naming ceremony of his last child.
Within two months, Adaramola informed his family that he had sent N21m home, though months later, the money had yet to be received.
"Although we are yet to receive the funds up till this moment, we are still trying to get it through the inter-bank process," his brother explained.
Communication with him was mostly through WhatsApp. Then, gradually, the tone of his messages began to change.
"What he described to us was no longer what he met there," his brother said.
There were hints of regret and fear. He started sending documents home, instructing his family on how to claim whatever benefits the Russian government had promised in case he did not survive.
It was his way of preparing them for the worst.
"He told me if he could just blow 'awoo' and escape from the warfront, he would have done so," Abiodun recounted sadly.
It was a friend who had travelled with him to Russia that broke the news of his death, leaving the family shattered.
To date, there has been no formal communication from the Russian authorities, despite efforts to engage the Russian Embassy in Abuja.
Meanwhile, at home, in a bittersweet attempt to preserve his memory, Abiodun named his newborn son after his brother.
But their father vehemently refused, as he could not bear to hear the name again in a house where it now echoes with loss.
Back in Adaramola's immediate family, another kind of silence persists.
His wife, supported emotionally and financially by relatives, has chosen to shield their children from the harsh truth.
They continue to grow, unaware that the father they are waiting for will never return.
In February 2022, after months of troop build-up along its neighbour's borders, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, describing it as a "special military operation."
What was expected to be swift has since hardened into Europe's most devastating conflict in decades.
By January 2026, an analysis by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies estimated that Russian forces had suffered nearly 1.2 million casualties, including roughly 325,000 killed. Ukrainian casualties were estimated at between 500,000 and 600,000, with up to 140,000 deaths.
The assault, which began with missile strikes on major cities including Kyiv, marked a dramatic escalation of a conflict that had simmered since 2014, when Moscow annexed Crimea and backed separatist movements in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region.
Thousands of civilians have been killed, millions displaced, and entire towns reduced to rubble.
The conflict has also redrawn geopolitical alliances, triggered sweeping Western sanctions on Moscow, and deepened divisions between Russia and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation countries supplying arms and intelligence to Kyiv.
Yet, beyond the battle maps and diplomatic statements lies another, quieter crisis: the depletion of Russia's fighting force and the measures adopted to replenish it.
By 2023, reports began to surface showing that Russian casualties had been mounting at an alarming rate since 2022.
Independent studies and Western intelligence estimates have suggested that hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded since the invasion began.
A partial mobilisation announced by President Vladimir Putin in September 2022 triggered public protests and a wave of emigration, as many military-aged men fled the country to avoid conscription.
Faced with battlefield losses and domestic resistance to further mobilisation, Moscow turned to alternative sources of manpower.
One of the earliest pillars of that strategy was the deployment of fighters from the Wagner Group, a state-backed paramilitary network that had operated in parts of Africa and the Middle East long before the Ukraine war.
Wagner recruited heavily from Russian prisons, offering inmates reduced sentences or pardons in exchange for frontline service.
Over time, that recruitment net widened beyond Russia's borders.
Reports by international media and research organisations indicate that thousands of foreign nationals have signed contracts with the Russian military since late 2022. Among them are citizens from 36 African countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Zambia, and Kenya.
While a few enlisted knowingly, lured by promises of high pay or citizenship, many others appear to have been misled.
Some were told they would work as security guards, factory hands, drivers, or translators. Others believed they were signing up for non-combat support roles.
Instead, according to survivor testimonies, many were rushed through brief training and deployed to frontline infantry units, where casualty rates are notoriously high.
European organisation INPACT obtained a database listing 1,417 African men from 35 countries who signed formal contracts to enlist in the Russian army between 2023 and 2025.
The database is not exhaustive. INPACT cross-checked it against the names of Africans reported killed in Ukraine and found additional names not captured.
According to the analysis, recruitment rose from 177 in 2023 to 592 in 2024 and 647 in 2025.
An earlier report by The PUNCH recounted how Nigerian trader Benjamin Oloko travelled to Russia for what he believed was a private security job paying $1,500 monthly and a $20,000 sign-up bonus.
He explained that on getting to Russia, airport officials instructed him to call his "handler," after which they collected his passport.
On getting to the hotel his handler had booked for him, Oloko quickly connected with other Africans like himself.
It was then that he realised what he was truly there for.
When he contacted his Nigerian agent for confirmation, the narrative changed from a private security job to claims that he would only work in the kitchen at the war camp and would not be deployed to the frontline.
While awaiting transfer to the military camp, his family warned him against signing any contract.
"I was warned that signing the contract meant signing my death warrant," Oloko said.
He escaped, but many others like him were not so lucky.
Another survivor, Balogun Adisa, who was once mistakenly reported dead, recounted the story of a colleague named Abubakar.
He said after just one week of the three-week training course, Abubakar collapsed from a heart attack.
According to him, after hospitalisation, Abubakar requested to return home.
"He was told he would have to spend three months in prison, after which he would be allowed to return to his country. He wrote a letter accepting punishment for refusing deployment. 16 days later, he was still sent to war," he recounted.
Balogun said phones were confiscated and Abubakar was not allowed to use a translator to understand the contract, even during training.
Petebor, a friend of Balogun, told our correspondent, "He was my colleague. He was a very talented guy and worked as a mechanic with a reputable brand. On the side, he also made some car sales since he had access to the business and car dealer friends like myself."
Balogun's wife was heavily pregnant when he left Nigeria in late 2025.
"She has since given birth. He does not know," Petebor added.
In another widely circulated interview, a Nigerian man, Bankole Matthew, described his journey.
He said, "Life in Nigeria, it is very difficult to get food to eat. Everybody is complaining in Nigeria. Everything is hard right now. I decided to explore this opportunity to see if I can get money to help myself and my family. That's why I came here."
"I knew I was coming to Russia, but I didn't know I was coming to join the army. I found the job in Nigeria through a friend who sent me the contract form. It was written in Russian. All I had to do was edit the previous name out, replace it with my name, and send it back. I was sent some forms to fill out, after which I was sent an invitation to the embassy for the visa.
"At the embassy, we were called inside, and they collected our passports and told us to just fill in our names. Then they said we could go. When we left, we were told that we had gotten the visa and that we would be sent flight tickets.
"When I got to Russia, the person I knew handed me over to two white men and said I should go with them. I didn't know I was here to fight until I got to camp; at that point, you cannot escape."
Describing camp routines, he further said, "We wake up by 7 o'clock for the assembly. We learn things like how to handle a gun, how to check the ground in case of a bomb, and how to use and set some tools. Then they moved us to a second camp where they taught us how to move at night. They gave us a rifle in the second camp."
A Nigerian soldier identified as Amos Ugu spoke about his experience serving on the frontline with the Ukrainian Army.
In a video shared on Facebook by the Ukrainian Foreign Recruitment Centre, Ugu introduced himself, saying, "My name is Amos Ndubisi Ugu. I go by the call sign Cobra. I am from South-East Nigeria. I am 34 years old. Presently, I am a drone pilot. I fly the Vampire drone. I am serving in the Flash Battalion of the 28th Brigade of the Ukrainian Army."
Speaking on his training, he added, "There has been a lot of training here in the brigade. To be specific, we trained for several weeks on the Vampire drone, and the training is interesting and very good."
The video was captioned, "Cobra, a volunteer from Nigeria, serves as a drone pilot in Ukraine's 28th Brigade Flash Battalion. After weeks of intensive training, he now flies Vampire drones on the front lines."
The Foreign Recruitment Centre is an official Ukrainian government platform established to enlist foreign volunteers into various units of the country's defence forces. The platform regularly shares videos of international recruits who have joined Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Online, some Nigerian soldiers posted what appeared to be subtle traps by projecting an appealing lifestyle from their time working as Russian soldiers.
A TikToker identified as Heaven Gold Travel and Tour frequently declares, "Africa is for Russia."
In January 2026, he wrote, "Russia is a good country in the world. Africa, we should not listen to other countries." In other posts, he wrote, "The love for Russia is deep."
He claims to assist Africans with relocation, but messages sent to him were not answered as of the time of publication.
Former Nigerian soldier Obiorah Okechukwu offers similar guidance.
"If you want to join the army, I will help you and send an invitation letter from Russia. It will cost you $200. If I send the letter and you need me to do the documents for your appointment and other things so you can use them at the embassy, I will help you do that," he said in a Facebook video posted on September 29, 2025.
He then outlined a step-by-step pathway for relocation in Igbo.
He said interested persons should contact him directly through his Russian or Nigerian WhatsApp numbers.
Okechukwu said upon payment of $200, he would provide a Russian invitation letter and a hotel reservation for one or two weeks in Moscow or St Petersburg, delivered in PDF format.
He instructed applicants to use the documents to apply for a Russian visa at the embassy in their country.
According to him, visa applicants must also present additional requirements such as a flight ticket, a bank statement, and proof of funds.
He said intending travellers should be able to show between $1,000 and $2,000 in an account as financial backing, adding that visa fees vary depending on the country of application.
From time to time, he also posts job vacancies in Russia. In one such post, he wrote, "Work in Moscow; need a man tomorrow, paid 3,500 rubles, from 10 am to 5 pm, 1 hour 10 minutes from Moscow. I'll be with you. We'll meet at Volokolamskaya metro station, at Platform D2, for the train departure."
Okechukwu left the Nigerian Army to enlist in the Russian military. Checks on his social media pages by our correspondent show that he worked as an infantry soldier at the Nigerian Army Headquarters in Kaduna before resurfacing online as a rifleman in Russia's Fourth Air Army.
Okechukwu, who is an outspoken Biafra supporter, regularly addresses Nigerian youths on his platforms.
With 191,000 followers on Facebook and more than 28,000 on TikTok, his comment sections are often flooded with questions from young Nigerians asking how they can join him.
Travel agencies advertised such opportunities
A Nigerian travel agency, ST. Fortunes Travel and Logistics, reportedly located at 127 UNIPORT Road, Choba, Port Harcourt, was alleged to be helping people relocate to join the Russian army.
In a Facebook post on October 22, 2025, it wrote, "Contact St. Fortunes Travels and Logistics to join Russia Army." The post had attached Nigerian and Russian contact numbers.
Posing as a Nigerian man interested in relocating to join the Russian army following the Facebook posts, our correspondent sent a WhatsApp message to the numbers attached to the post, and got a reply that read, "Be informed that you'll be required to book a consultation (either in our office or here online) if your request has to do with visa inquiries and proper travel guide, which will be done during consultation, which is an exclusive service we render, so we charge a fee (N20,000 only) for consultation for serious clients who mean business and are ready to travel."
The contact person refused to give out further information until our correspondent made a payment of N20,000 to the bank account ST. Fortunes Co Limited.
After the payment, the person permitted our correspondent to ask further questions.
The person revealed that the opportunity was currently closed and that he had no information as of March 2026.
It was later revealed that there was a current opportunity for relocation to Canada or the French Army.
Though the person seemed reluctant to give further information about the process for recruitment into the Russian army, in a later call with our correspondent, the person, who happened to be a male, revealed, "I don't have any update on that one at the moment. I have given you options.
"It is not all military you can join from Nigeria here. That one, they just made it like that because they needed mercenaries. And if you are going there, you will do a visit visa. When you arrive there, somebody will connect you. The person will go to the military camp there and bring somebody who will come and pick you up and introduce you to them. Then, you will join before your visa expires. So it's not like you will join from here; it's just that they make arrangements for them like they have somebody there."
However, a few days later, he sent a message to our correspondent, stating that there was now a vacancy for the Russian army, as one of the staff who joined after retiring from the Nigerian military could no longer continue due to old age.
"I got some quick info this morning on your first request, that's if you're serious, as there's an opening for you to replace someone whose contract has expired and who is no longer fit for the job due to age, because he was already a retired soldier in the Nigerian Army before enlisting over there. So call me if you're serious and ready now to go for it."
Another travel agency, Atlantic Bestway Travel and Tours, processes direct visits to Russia for work visas within one month.
In one of its recent Facebook posts from January 31, 2026, it wrote, "30 people are urgently needed in Russia for military and non-military work.
Salary: for the military work salary is $2,600, while for non-military is $1,000-$1,500.
Benefits: $10,000 for joining Russian military; Russian passport will be issued after one year.
Service charge: N5m, military N5.5m. Deposit of N500,000 only. Processing time: 1 month.
"Hurry up... This is the best opportunity to enter Russia now and move to other countries from there."
In a more recent post on February 9, it wrote, "New invitation for Moldova."
Moldova, though not directly at war, sits strategically between Ukraine and Romania and has faced spillover tensions from the conflict, making it geopolitically sensitive.
Lagos-based immigration lawyer and Principal Partner at Nomos Legal Practice, Kingsley Izimah, said the experiences of Nigerians caught in the Russia-Ukraine conflict point to a troubling pattern under international law.
He described many of the cases as falling squarely within the framework of human trafficking, forced labour and fraudulent recruitment.
"Cases where Nigerian citizens are recruited under misleading job offers that later force them into military service are classified under international law as human trafficking, forced labour and fraudulent recruitment.
"Under the Protocol of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, human trafficking involves three elements: recruitment, the use of deception or coercion, and exploitation for personal gain.
"Where individuals are offered false job opportunities or certificates of sponsorship and are subsequently compelled into military service, these elements of recruitment, deception or coercion, and exploitation for personal gain have been established and satisfied," he noted.
Izimah pointed to past international rulings that established that governments have a duty to investigate such abuses, protect victims and cooperate across borders.
Under Nigerian law, he stressed, the situation is no less serious.
Citing provisions of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, Izimah explained that the recruitment, transportation or harbouring of persons through deception for exploitative purposes is a criminal offence.
He said, "Honestly, some Nigerians do approach us as immigration attorneys with the genuine interest of joining the Ukrainian military service or Russian military service, and these individuals do apply for such positions through these countries' websites, seeking to join military service.
"While most of the applicants fail to qualify to join the military service, under these circumstances, it is difficult to prove that such an individual was deceived, coerced into military service or forced into armed conflict, since they legitimately applied for such roles on these specific recruitment portals provided by these foreign countries.
"...But where an immigrant travels abroad with a tourist, visitor, study or employment visa only to later discover that such visa category did not provide the purpose for which the applicant applied, but rather that it is converted to military service or forced armed conflict, records of the applicant's visa category will show and help prove the immigration status of the individual."
"Thus, the easiest way to determine whether an immigrant was deceived or coerced into military service abroad is to examine the visa category with which the person entered the country. Armed with the immigrant's visa category or status, it becomes easier to establish whether such a person was misled or compelled into military service abroad," Izimah added.
The lawyer said, however, international law has evolved to recognise that coercion does not always require physical force.
A report by The Daily Beast on November 21, 2022, alleged that officials at Southern Federal University in Rostov-on-Don, near the Ukrainian border, pressured African students to join Russian forces fighting in Ukraine's Donbas region.
According to three African students who spoke to The Daily Beast, university officials approached them repeatedly, urging them to enlist either in the Russian army or with the Wagner Group. They were allegedly promised monthly payments of between $3,000 and $5,000.
Some students also claimed they were warned that refusal could result in punitive measures, including increased tuition fees or the cancellation of scholarships for international students.
Reinforcing these concerns, a report published on March 10, 2026, by Zagazola highlighted the growing risks faced by African nationals caught in the conflict. The report detailed the death of a Nigerien student who was killed while fighting in Ukraine.
It further amplified fears about the expanding reach of recruitment efforts targeting young Africans studying or working abroad. The incident has intensified scrutiny around how vulnerable individuals are drawn into the war, often under circumstances that remain unclear or contested.
Accounts from students, however, suggest a more varied experience.
A Nigerian student of Belgorod State Technology University in Russia, who chose to remain anonymous due to security concerns, explained that he and some of his friends had voluntarily taken up summer jobs with the military when the government did not pay their scholarship stipends on time.
According to him, it is only when one is an illegal migrant that they might not have a choice but to serve in the military, because being an undocumented resident is already a crime.
"When I wanted to apply, I just asked my friends if they had knowledge of any available jobs, and we went there to see if there was still any vacancy. The first time, I went only once because it was winter and it was too cold for me, and that was it. I wasn't threatened to come the next day. The only threat I suffered was hunger.
"My friends and I were employed to fix barbed wire, and at the end of the day, we were paid. The people I worked with the second time, which was during the summer, were artisans, just normal men who built bunkers or trenches. I worked with a foreigner, and the man in charge of the project took us to a nearby gas station for lunch. The summer wage was 2,500-3,000 rubles."
Another student, Alayo, said she had never seen anyone approach students to ask them to join the army.
However, she explained, "What they do is that they have advertisement stands in most metros. You can walk up to them and ask questions, but they would never force you."
She also shared images of a brochure showing the different pay and benefits according to the role one plays in the army.
The brochure, translated from Russian to English, showed that vacancies under the Special Military Operation (SVO) included grenade launcher operator, artilleryman, machine gunner, mechanic, electrician and others.
Benefits listed also included payments ranging from 5,200,000 RUR to 10,000,000 RUR, a certificate for up to 10 acres of land, care for family and friends, life and health insurance, free medical care, among others, depending on the soldier's position, rank, length of service and other factors.
Nigerians in foreign wars lack institutional protection - Sociologist
Professor John Gyong, a sociologist and criminology expert who has extensively studied migration patterns among Nigerian youths, explained that the stories emerging from the Russia-Ukraine conflict are part of a broader pattern driven by aspiration and vulnerability.
He noted that human beings are naturally drawn to opportunities that promise a better life. However, the reality beneath those promises is often obscured.
"The reality is that the dangers of these situations are not always clearly presented. Human beings are naturally drawn to opportunities that promise a better life. If the risks were fully understood, many would reconsider," Gyong said.
What reaches many young Nigerians, according to him, is a carefully curated image of success. Stories of those who have made it abroad circulate widely, creating the impression that similar outcomes are within easy reach.
"In some cases, it is real. In others, it is misleading or even deceptive," he added.
Gyong noted that experiences differ sharply. According to him, while some individuals find themselves in relatively safer roles, others are pushed into volatile frontlines with little preparation, such that even prior military experience offers no guarantees.
"People enter environments that are completely unfamiliar, highly unpredictable, and often more dangerous than anything they have known," he said.
Gyong drew a critical distinction between structured military recruitment and the situations many of these individuals find themselves in.
He said, "In structured military recruitment, such as with mercenaries hired through companies, there are contracts and protections. But in many of these cases, individuals go on their own without any organisation negotiating on their behalf or ensuring their welfare.
"Once they arrive, they have little control over their conditions. They may be assigned to high-risk zones, and because they are outsiders, they can also face discrimination. There are concerns about unequal treatment, including being given inferior equipment or being placed in more dangerous positions."
The don noted that beyond the battlefield, another layer of complexity emerges: many become trapped.
"Some lack the financial means to return home. Others remain out of shame, unwilling to face the stigma of coming back without success. For many, the decision to stay is no longer about opportunity but survival. It becomes a situation where leaving is just as difficult as staying," he said.
Gyong pointed to the emotional strain endured by parents who lose contact with their children, sometimes for months or years.
"There is constant fear, uncertainty and anxiety. Not knowing where your child is or what condition they are in can be devastating. In many cases, families have invested heavily to make these journeys possible, only to receive no updates or returns," he added.
The psychological toll, he noted, can be severe, particularly when the individual involved is an only child or a central figure in the family's hopes for upward mobility.
Even for those who return, reintegration is rarely straightforward.
NAPTIP not aware of Nigerians fighting in Russia, Ukraine -- NAPTIP
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons said it is not aware of any Nigerian currently fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war who has formally requested assistance to withdraw from the conflict.
Speaking with our correspondent, the agency's Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye, said NAPTIP had not received any such request.
"Even if such requests are made, the process is not straightforward. These individuals have, according to reports, enlisted in either the Russian or Ukrainian army. Once enlisted, it is not something an agency can simply reverse. It requires a diplomatic process, which can be quite lengthy," he stated.
Explaining the process for repatriation in such situations, Adekoye said, "If anyone finds themselves in that situation and needs help, the first step is to contact the Nigerian embassy in the country where they are located, for instance, in Russia or Ukraine.
"They can also reach out directly to NAPTIP. Once we receive such a request, we will act immediately. We will liaise with the Nigerian embassy and work to establish their exact location through our partners. From there, other necessary diplomatic and legal processes will follow. That is the standard procedure."
The press officer further disclosed that the agency had continued to engage travel agents, recruiters and their umbrella bodies as part of efforts to prevent exploitation and ensure compliance with the law.
He emphasised the importance of public awareness, urging Nigerians to carefully verify opportunities, especially those promoted on social media, noting that not all offers are genuine.
While acknowledging the growing trend of migration among Nigerians seeking better opportunities abroad, Adekoye cautioned that offers that appear too attractive should be treated with suspicion and thoroughly scrutinised.
Adekoye also revealed that enforcement actions had been taken in some cases.
"In addition, we have taken enforcement actions. Some individuals linked to suspicious recruitment activities have been arrested, and the legal process is ongoing. We remain committed to raising awareness, engaging stakeholders and protecting Nigerians from exploitation," he stated.
The Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Daria Zakharova, told our correspondent to contact the Nigerian embassy in Russia for further information, noting that it is responsible for Nigerian citizens in Russia.
She, however, added that there are published materials in which the Russian embassy in Nigeria had engaged journalists to clarify the issue.
Zakharova offered to share the materials and subsequently sent five online posts.
One of the posts read in part: "The Embassy has on numerous occasions provided clarifications concerning reports of Nigerian citizens allegedly being recruited to take part in Russia's special military operation in Ukraine. We reaffirm that the Russian Federation operates no official or state-run programme aimed at recruiting citizens of Nigeria.
"The Embassy possesses no information about the existence of any fraudulent schemes or criminal networks that lure Nigerian nationals into combat roles.
"The articles mention individuals who travelled to Russia on tourist visas, supposedly with the intention of seeking work, in one case as an engineer, in another as a security guard. This fact indicates an attempt to violate Russian law, as entering the country on a tourist visa for employment purposes is strictly prohibited.
"We recommend focusing efforts on identifying and pursuing those inside Nigeria who act as intermediaries and deceive Nigerian citizens."
The Russian Embassy in Abuja did not issue visas to the individuals named Balogun Adisa Ridwan and Abubakar Adamu."
This article was produced with support from the African Academy for Open Source Investigations (AAOSI) and the African Digital Democracy Observatory (ADDO) as part of an initiative by Code for Africa (CfA). Visit https://disinfo.africa/ for more information.