The President Muhammadu Buhari’s government has said
Nigeria is ready to sanction Russia for invading Ukraine in
line with the United Nations’ resolution to “adopt and
impose sanctions” on the country.
“On imposing (the) sanction, this is going to be a
collective action. The United Nations has to act,”
disclosed Nigeria’s foreign affairs minister Geoffrey
Onyeama in an interview with Channels TV on Monday
night.
He added, “We are going to act and engage within the
framework of the United Nations. So if the United Nations
adopts and imposes sanctions against Russia, we will
comply with UN’s resolution.”
Onyeama condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s
decision to wage war against Ukraine.
“We made that very clear; we condemned it. First of all,
military force is not the solution. We have spoken up about
the territorial integrity that we recognise the integrity of
Ukraine,” insisted the minister. “Nigeria’s position on the
resolution is very clear, that we do not condone this
military intervention in another country.”
Thousands of Nigerians have been caught in the Russia-
Ukraine war, with the federal government frantic to get
them out of Ukraine.
It directed Nigerians fleeing Ukraine to head to Hungarian
or Romanian borders for easy access.
“For now, movement to the Hungarian Zahony border and
Romanian Suceava, Tulcea, Satu Mare County, and
Maramures borders is advised, as they approved visa-free
access to all Nigerians coming from Ukraine and
arrangement for accommodation and feeding before
evacuation is arranged,” said permanent secretary to the
ministry of foreign affairs, Gabriel Aduda in a statement.
Nigerian embassies in Romania, Hungary, and Poland have
received over 256 stranded Nigerians from Ukraine while
awaiting the arrival of 200 more in the coming days, said
Aduda.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of
Ukraine last week, with neighbouring Belarus effectively
used as a stageng post for the Russian military.
Channel TV.
