Our Correspondent | Africa Guardian
In 2021, the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary organization, reportedly planned attacks on African infrastructure, including pipelines operated by the U.S.-based Chevron Corporation. This revelation comes from Ukrainian broadcaster Channel 24, which accessed internal correspondence from the Concord Group, co-owned by the late Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The leaked documents suggest Wagner’s intention to collaborate with African terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda affiliates. The correspondence includes emails from relatives of Russian mercenaries killed in Ukraine and parents requesting Prigozhin to employ their sons.
One notable email came from Igor Smirnov, a former Russian intelligence officer, who allegedly worked for oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky. In March 2021, Smirnov warned the Concord Group that retired Russian officers were planning attacks on foreign infrastructure in West Africa.
Smirnov claimed that Russians were in contact with armed groups, such as Ansaru, an al-Qaeda affiliate in Nigeria, to target Western oil companies in the Niger Delta. He alleged that al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb would take credit for these attacks and asserted possession of video and audio evidence linking Wagner Group mercenaries to these plans.
“This will directly impact your company, which destabilizes West Africa, collaborates with terrorists, and indirectly wages war with the West,” Smirnov warned in his correspondence.
Chevron Targeted
Smirnov further accused the Wagner Group of extorting money from Chevron in exchange for safeguarding pipelines in Nigeria. He provided a video allegedly showing Andrey Troshev, a close Prigozhin associate, meeting with Asari Dokubo, the commander of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force.
Prigozhin’s Downfall
Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner Group and a former confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, played a pivotal role in Russia’s global operations. However, their alliance unraveled in June 2023 following Prigozhin’s rebellion against the Russian military command. Two months later, Prigozhin died in a plane crash, widely speculated to be orchestrated by Putin.
This exposé sheds light on the Wagner Group’s covert activities in Africa, highlighting its alleged involvement in destabilizing regions through partnerships with terrorist groups and extortion schemes targeting Western corporations.
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