Nigeria’s Response to the Russia-Ukraine War: Non-Alignment, Abstention, and Strategic Interests

This study examines Nigeria's diplomatic response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, analysing the rationale behind Nigeria's abstention from key United Nations General Assembly resolutions condemning the invasion and assessing the broader strategic interests that shaped this positioning. Nigeria's abstention, alongside many other African states, provoked significant commentary from Western governments and analysts, raising questions about the durability of non-alignment as a foreign policy tradition and the nature of African states' relationships with Russia. Drawing on non-alignment theory and neorealist balance of interest analysis, this research investigates the factors that shaped Nigeria's voting behaviour and official statements on the Ukraine conflict from February 2022 to December 2024. The study employs a qualitative methodology, relying on analysis of UNGA voting records, official Nigerian government statements, presidential speeches, and diplomatic reporting. Interviews with security analysts at the NIIA and academic observers provide supplementary perspectives. Findings are expected to reveal that Nigeria's abstentions reflected a combination of genuine non-alignment tradition, economic interests tied to grain and fertiliser imports, Russian security ties in the Sahel, and domestic political calculations. The study contributes to the literature on Global South positioning in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Keywords: Russia-Ukraine war, Nigeria, non-alignment, abstention, UNGA.