FG Denies Endorsing Scheme
_photo credit: Alabuga Special Economic Zone / Alabuga SEZ_
Fresh concerns are trailing the recruitment of young Nigerian women into Russia’s controversial Alabuga Start programme, following allegations that the initiative, advertised as an education and employment opportunity, has been used to deploy recruits to drone manufacturing and expose them to exploitation.
According to investigations by international and Nigerian media, the programme recruits through social media campaigns and local travel agencies, despite the Federal Government insisting it never endorsed it.
The renewed concerns follow a Daily Mail report alleging that a senior recruiter for the programme, Konstantin Trifonov, was linked to Telegram channels associated with child sexual abuse. The newspaper said the discovery was made through an investigation into a Telegram account linked to Trifonov, though the allegation has not been independently verified.
The Alabuga Start programme operates from the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Tatarstan, Russia. It is promoted as an education-and-employment scheme for women aged 18-22, offering monthly salaries of $500 to $700, accommodation, travel support and Russian language training.
However, a BBC investigation reported that many recruits who applied for roles in hospitality and catering were instead assigned to work in a factory producing military drones.
A 2024 report estimated that over 1,000 African women had already been recruited, with recruitment still ongoing across the continent.
In Nigeria, reports by Premium Times and ZAM Magazine said recruitment was done via social media and local agencies operating under cooperation agreements with Alabuga Start. Agencies named include Mercy of Success Konsultancy, run by Adeleke Olowatobi, and Topklass Erasco Travels and Tours, headed by Cynthia Orah, which reportedly promoted the programme on TikTok.
Reports also noted that information about the Alabuga scholarship appeared on the Federal Ministry of Education’s website between 2022 and 2025.
The Federal Scholarship Board (FSB) has however distanced itself from the programme. Its Director, Ndajiwo Asta, said the ministry never approved or endorsed Alabuga Start.
“Whatever is on the website was made by fraudulent persons trying to use the ministry. We have never issued any statement endorsing Alabuga,” he was quoted as saying.
He clarified that while Nigeria has a Bilateral Education Agreement with Russia for Nigerian students in Russian universities, the Alabuga Start programme is not part of that arrangement.
Trifonov, who has travelled extensively across Africa including Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Madagascar to promote the programme, was sanctioned by the United Kingdom in May this year over his role in recruiting foreign workers, with an asset freeze and travel ban.
According to the Daily Mail, a Telegram account linked to him allegedly engaged with channels promoting child sexual abuse material, including groups identified as “School 69/Young Girls” and “Kindergarten Cookie.” The newspaper said it was unclear if anyone else had access to the account.
The allegations have heightened concerns already raised by former participants and rights groups. Some former recruits claimed those who lost their placements became stranded in Russia, while others alleged racism, intimidation and exploitative working conditions.
It was also reported that earlier campaigns in Uganda accepted applicants as young as 13, before the minimum age was raised to 18 in 2023.
The development has renewed calls for African applicants, especially in Nigeria, to be cautious about overseas job offers advertised on social media or by private agencies where the job roles cannot be independently verified, as Russia continues to expand foreign recruitment amid its war with Ukraine.
Source: The Sun Nigeria – Fresh concerns trail recruitment of Nigerian women into Russian Alabuga Start scheme