International Law and the Regulation of Mercenaries: The Wagner Group’s Activities in Africa and Implications for Nigeria

This study analyses the international legal framework governing the use of mercenaries in armed conflict and assesses the implications of the Wagner Group's expanding operations in West and Central Africa for Nigeria's security environment and international legal obligations. The use of private military contractors raises complex issues under international humanitarian law, including the definition of mercenaries under Additional Protocol I, the accountability of states that hire or tolerate such actors, and the applicability of IHL to non-state armed groups funded by foreign states. Using an analytical legal methodology drawing on the Montreux Document, the UN Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries reports, and analysis of Wagner Group documentation and operations in Mali, Burkina Faso, Sudan, and the Central African Republic, the study develops a legal analysis of Nigeria's obligations and risks arising from this regional security dynamic. It fills a gap in the literature on the application of mercenary law to private military companies in Africa, which has been undertheorised relative to the policy literature. The study examines whether Nigeria's bilateral security agreements and regional ECOWAS frameworks adequately address the mercenary problem and assesses Nigeria's regulatory obligations under the International Convention Against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries. Findings indicate that Nigeria's legal framework for addressing mercenaries is underdeveloped and that the Wagner Group's regional presence creates specific legal risks for Nigerian borders. Recommendations include ratification of the 1989 Mercenaries Convention and development of a legal framework for regulating private military actors. Keywords: mercenaries, Wagner Group, IHL, West Africa, private military companies.