A Nigerian national, Balogun Ridwan recruited to fight for Russia in its ongoing war with Ukraine has been captured by Ukrainian forces.
According to the report, Ridwan was induced to travel to Russia under the pretext of an engineering job offer but was forced to sign a contract with the Russian military upon his arrival.
Ridwan said the contract was written in Russian, a language he did not understand.
“The day we were signing the contract, I didn’t understand the language. They didn’t allow us to use our phones to translate, so we signed our contracts. I told them already about my job. Maybe they were going to put me in my field. I didn’t know they would use me,” Ridwan said.
It was reported that Ridwan underwent a few weeks of training before being deployed to the front line, describing the training period as chaotic and harsh.
Narrating his ordeal, he recalled that their phones were confiscated and they were subjected to difficult conditions.
He also recounted that another recruit, an African identified as Bubaka, suffered a heart attack during training and nearly died.
“We spent 16 days, not weeks, but the guy [Bubaka] didn’t pass his training at all. He was still sent with us to go to war. This was very bad.”
Ridwan was arrested on the front line at a Russian base where he was deployed.
The report stated that he surrendered to Ukrainian troops during a raid in January, although the exact location of his arrest was not disclosed.
Around the time of his arrest, Ridwan was also reported to have died in combat.
Ridwan was previously listed alongside Adam Anas, Akinlawon Tunde Quyuum, and Abugu Stanley Onyeka as Nigerians who died while fighting for Russia after being recruited under the guise of a security job.
Ridwan is seeking the intervention of the Nigerian government, insisting that he was deceived into joining the Russian military.
“I travelled to Russia on a tourist visa to find a job.
The government of Russia grossly fooled me, turned me into a soldier, and sent me to war in Ukraine.
“I appeal to my government, to my president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Forgive your son. I left home to feed my family. It did not work out the way I wanted. I went to have a job as a mechanic or engineer,” he said.
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