Prince Nkem Nduche is one of the Nigerian men who stormed the Ukraine Embassy in Abuja to declare his intention to fight for the Ukrainian army in the ongoing war between the country and Russia.
It could be recalled that a few days ago, the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, had called for help, saying that Ukraine was ready to accept people from other countries who were ready to join the Ukrainian army to help fight against Russia. He said that such people should come forward, that the Ukrainian government would give them weapons.
Several people responded to his call by stepping forward to put down their names, and Nigerians were not left out. One of the volunteers was Prince Nkem Nduche who hails from Ogbaru Local Government Area in Anambra State.
In an interview with BBC News Pidgin, the young man gave reasons why he wants to join the Ukrainian army. He said that he wants to take revenge on Russia because of what Putin did to him when he was in the country.
He said that he was between 18 and 19 when he joined the Russia Military Academy, and at that time he didn’t have a vast knowledge about the world and international politics. He said that he had no idea that Russia was not in good terms with America, and that when Russians saw him coming out from the American Embassy, they immediately placed allegation on him that he jumped train.
He said that he was accused of working as a spy for the American people. He said that he was sent to jail because of that, and that it was Putin who gave the order that he should be jailed.
He said that when he was released from prison, he had to find his way out of Russia, even though they wanted him to remain and become a full Russian soldier.
He said that the Russian military did not know when he left the country, and he believes they would have hurt him if they did. He said that he escaped through the Ukrainian border until he found himself in Nigeria.
He said that he will never forget what Putin did to him, that is why he wants to join the Ukrainian Army to fight against them.
But the Nigerian government has made it clear that it will not tolerate the recruitment of Nigerians as mercenaries to support Ukraine in the war against Russia.
