…No Visa Required For Nigerians Moving From Ukraine To Romania, Hungary, FG Reacts

…As Facebook Shuts Down Pro-Russian Network, Ukraine Account Hijacks

…Belarus May Join Ukraine Invasion, Says U.S. Official

The Presidency has described as unfortunate, the reports of Ukrainian police and security personnel refusing to allow Nigerians to board buses and trains heading towards the Ukraine-Poland border.

“From video evidence, first-hand reports, and from those in contact with their wards and/or Nigerian consular officials there have been unfortunate reports of Ukrainian police and security personnel refusing to allow Nigerians to board buses and trains heading towards the Ukraine-Poland border,” Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba Shehu said in a statement on Sunday.

He also said that in a video that has been widely circulating on social media, a Nigerian mother with her baby was filmed being physically forced to give up her seat to another person.

According to the statement, there were also separate reports of Polish officials simply refusing Nigerian citizens’ entry into Poland from Ukraine.

Read Also: [Russian Invasion] Nigerians Granted Visa-Free Access To Romania, Hungary

“One group of Nigerian students having been repeatedly refused entry into Poland have concluded they have no choice but to travel again across Ukraine and attempt to exit the country via the border with Hungary,” the statement added.

Shehu said that the Federal Government is concerned about the safety and human rights of all Nigerians and also understands the pain and fear that is confronting them as well as others in Ukraine who are trying to escape the crisis.

He, however, noted that it is paramount that everyone is treated with dignity and without favour.

“We understand the pain and fear that is confronting all people who find themselves in this terrifying place.

“We also appreciate that those in official positions in security and border management will in most cases be experiencing impossible expectations in a situation they never expected.

“But, for that reason, it is paramount that everyone is treated with dignity and without favour.

“All who flee a conflict situation have the same right to safe passage under UN Convention and the colour of their passport or their skin should make no difference.”

Speaking further, the Presidential spokesperson noted that there is a long history dating back to decades of Nigerians and other Africans studying in Ukraine, particularly medicine.

According to him, the majority of Nigerian citizens in the country today are university-enrolled students – a feat which he said would not have been possible without the generousity of the Ukrainian people.

Shehu, therefore, prayed for an end to the unfortunate situation.

“As a nation, we are proud of those educated in Kyiv and Kharkiv and other cities and centres of learning who have returned to Nigeria to perform great service for our nation and our people.

“Without the generosity of spirit of the Ukrainian people that would never have been possible.

“We pray for those directly affected by this conflict.

“Nigeria, with our 200 million people, support all and every diplomatic effort to bring this war to an end,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has announced that free visa arrangements are in place for Nigerians arriving from Ukraine through the borders in Romania and Hungary.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gabriel Adudar, made this known in a statement on Sunday.


Adudar also said due to the challenges faced by Nigerians crossing into countries bordering Ukraine, especially the Polish border, the government has arranged accommodation and feeding pending evacuation.

The statement read, “The Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs has spoken with his counterpart, the Foreign Minister of Ukraine on this unsavoury development and both are working on alleviating the suffering of Nigerians including deploying the International Organisation for Migration to the border to ensure easier access to all Nigerians and other nationals.

“For now, movement to the Hungarian Zahony border and Romanian Suceava, Tulcea, Satu Mare County & Maramures borders is advised, as they have approved visa-free access to all Nigerians coming from Ukraine and arrangements for accommodation and feeding before evacuation is arranged.


“Parents, guardians, and wards of Nigerians in Ukraine are please enjoined to remain calm as the Federal Government of Nigeria is working very hard to get them all home safely.

“Similarly, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Budapest, Hungary in a Public Travel Advisory said, it wishes to inform Nigerian nationals arriving from Ukraine, that the Government of Hungary has enacted Decree 56/2022 (24.11), which permits third-country nationals with valid Ukrainian resident permits to enter Hungary on a temporary basis, without a Schengen visa.

“As such, Nigerians arriving at the Hungary-Ukraine border can enter Hungary, either on transit to Nigeria, or to temporarily reside in the country.”
It further stated that arrangements are underway for the transportation of Nigerians nationals, to enable them stabilise.

“To that effect, therefore, affected Nigerian nationals wishing to be admitted into Hungary are advised to have their travel documents (valid Nigerian passport and Ukrainian resident permit) with some money in Euros, and cooperate with the Hungarian border authorities.

“Affected Nigerian nationals are advised to send their names, phone numbers, email addresses, and a copy of their passport biodata page to the Embassy’s consular email: secretary@nigerianembassy,hu, to enable the facilitation of the aforementioned arrangements.

“For information and guidance on consular assistance, please contact the following persons, who would be on ground to coordinate: I. Mr. Stanley OPARA (Consular Officer) +36308202903 Il. Mr. Ayotunde Adigun (Immigration Attache)+36308639203 4.

“Finally, further necessary updates will be regularly communicated through the official website of the Embassy (www.nigerianembassy.hu). Please disregard any information purportedly issued by the Embassy about entry into Hungary, that is not conveyed via Mission’s website.”

However, Meta Platforms Inc. found and disabled a disinformation network that operated accounts, groups and pages targeting Ukraine across its social networks, the company said late Sunday. 

The company also identified a number of Ukrainian public figures whose accounts were compromised by Ghostwriter, a known threat actor with a history of spreading Kremlin-friendly propaganda.

Meta has seen an uptick in targeting of Ukrainian users with disinformation and attempts to hijack accounts over the past few days as the nation grapples with an invasion by Russian military forces. With the conflict taking center stage in global news, Meta has “amplified” its cybersecurity team with a special operations center and is “taking rapid and proactive steps to change the situation on-platform and make things safer,” Nathaniel Gleicher, its head of security policy, said on a conference call.

The Facebook operator identified a breach of its coordinated inauthentic behavior (CIB) policy over the past 48 hours that manifested in fake personas posting links and content suggesting Western nations had betrayed Ukraine or that Ukraine was a failed state. The cross-platform operation spanned Twitter, Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube, Telegram and Russian social network VK as well as websites posing as independent news outlets. The fake accounts claimed to be based in Kyiv and included fictitious news editors and a former aviation engineer, while their profile photos appeared to have been generated with the help of artificial intelligence software, the company said.

Meta coordinated with other social networks and disrupted the campaign when its Facebook pages had fewer than 4,000 followers and its reach on Instagram was at less than 500 followers. The company isn’t attributing the action to Russia directly, but it said it identified similarities to an April 2020 CIB network that it connected with individuals in Russia and the contested Donbas region in Ukraine as well as Crimea.

The Ghostwriter attacks successfully compromised “a handful” of Ukrainian accounts, Gleicher said. The group, which previously was alleged to be involved in trying to sway voters in Germany’s election, works by targeting a small number of high-profile users and attempting to obtain their login credentials in order to use their social accounts to spread disinformation.

One of the pieces of content it sought to post was a YouTube video supposedly showing Ukrainian soldiers waving a white flag and surrendering to Russian troops. Facebook’s security team secured the affected accounts and alerted targeted users, though the company declined to identify any of the people affected.

Facebook continues to be accessible within Russia, according to its security chief, though it’s aware of reports that the country’s regulators may throttle or take its services offline after it rejected requests to block content within its borders.

In the same vein, a senior U.S. intelligence official says Belarus is expected to send troops into Ukraine as soon as Monday to fight alongside Russian forces that invaded Ukraine last week.

Belarus has been providing support for Russia’s war effort, but so far has not taken a direct part in the conflict.

The American official has direct knowledge of current U.S. intelligence assessments and says the decision by Belarus’ leader on whether to bring Belarus further into the war depends on talks between Russia and Ukraine happening in the coming days. The official spoke anonymously to discuss the sensitive information.

Russian forces have encountered strong resistance from Ukraine defenders, and U.S. officials say they believe the invasion has been more difficult, and slower, than the Kremlin envisioned, though that could change as Moscow adapts.