The Russian Federation has been accused of tricking the Nigerian government to traffic young Nigerian girls to Alabuga, Russia, to build suicide drones.
A Daily Sun source told our correspondent that “Russia is trafficking young Nigerian women to build suicide drones in Alabuga, Russia.”
However, when contacted for reaction, a media officer at the Embassy of Russia in Abuja, Daria Senyushina, wanted to know how Daily Sun came about the information.
“Where did you find this information? Who gave it to you?” the media officer responded via WhatsApp at 2:04pm.
Calls made to separate lines of Senyushina and the outgoing media officer, Yury Paramanov at 4:05, 4:07 and 4:13pm respectively were not responded to.
Further responses from Senyushina were: “Please send me the link or the source of information,” “Please ask your colleagues to share it with you,” “If you ask questions, please do not hesitate to back up your words with sources,” and “Any response?”
But our source maintained that along with women from several other African countries, the young girls from Nigeria were being deceived by Russia’s Alabuga Start program, which promises them good salaries and educational opportunities.
The source said: “But the reality is very different. Not only are they not told they will be manufacturing weapons of war, women have reported not receiving their full salaries. They may have some classes, but they spend more time at the drone factory, where they are exposed to harmful substances and chemicals doing mundane tasks such as gluing.”
The Daily Sun source also said more alarmingly was that the danger has increased as Ukraine has launched its own drones at the factory and surrounding living quarters to disrupt production, most recently attacking the site on April 23, 2025.
“And to make things worse, some girls have been unable to return home, being forced to turn to prostitution.”
Asked why Russia is trying to scam young women, the source stated that the Russian government is investing considerable resource into the programme because of its manpower shortage, and because the suicide drones are the main way in which Russia terrorised Ukraine’s civilian population.
“To answer this shortage, they are turning to workforces in Africa and Asia. They deploy recruiters, run extensive social media campaigns, and conduct outreach to individuals in African governments to help legitimize their programme and facilitate the recruitment of these girls, who are then trafficked. Even worse, they apparently recruit girls specifically because they are “easier to control” than boys,” he added.
Speaking further, the source noted that Alabuga Truth detailed dozens of officials and organizations promoting the programme in other African countries.
He added that many of them do not seem to be fully aware of their involvement in human trafficking, including other facilitators like Ghanaian dancer EnergeticTymlez and many other influencers who are paid by Alabuga Start to promote the programme, knowingly misleading the young girls.
The source further said Nigeria had a duty to protect the vulnerable and restore national pride.
“Such programmes are not only committing human rights abuses and putting these girls in grave danger, but they are openly mocking the Nigerian government and many other governments on the African continent through their deception. Russia may say it fights against modern day colonialism and imperialism, but this is a clear example of it treating Africans as a disposable workforce, tricking African governments to support its war economy. And this isn’t the only example – Russia’s Wagner mercenaries have lured hundreds of African men to fight and die in Ukraine, all while plundering Africa’s natural resources to keep the war going.
“This contempt for our governments and the Africans recruited is demonstrated through a recent leak by the British newspaper, the Daily Mail, which has published a voice recording of one the Alabuga recruiters racistly remarking that their African recruits ‘smell and look strange’. To protect vulnerable women who could be susceptible to recruitment and to ensure that Nigeria is treated with respect, the Nigerian government should be asking several questions to Russia and to some of its own employees who are complicit in these deceptive activities,” the source concluded.