Turkish govt begins massive deportation of Nigerian students


Date posted: October 1, 2016

Fredrick Nwabufo

The Turkish government has commenced a massive deportation of Nigerian students resident in the country, TheCable can report.

Rukkaya Usman, a Nigerian student deported from the country, said the Turkish government does not give a reason for the action.

Usman, a final year student of political science and international relations at the University of Meliksah, told TheCable on Saturday that she arrived in Turkey at 8am on September 26, but that she was detained at the airport for about 10 hours after which she was funnelled into an aircraft for a flight back to Nigeria.

“As I got to the airport, at the immigration; they (immigration) collected my passport and resident permit. They started to ask me questions like: ‘what are you studying?’ ‘What’s your father’s name?’ They took my passport. This was on September 26. I asked what was happening. But they said they didn’t know, that it was a new law, that they were sending me back to my country,” she narrated.

“They said if I had any questions I should go to my embassy and ask. I was put in a room. There were about seven other people. We were locked up in the room; there were cameras. We were not allowed to talk to anyone. I was told that my next flight was at 6pm. I asked for my passport, but they said I would get it when I get to my country.

“They took me to the plane, and they watched me as I boarded the aircraft.”

TheCable understands that the Turkish government is in a drive to deport all Nigerian students at universities linked to Fethullah Gulen’s Hizmet movement.

Gulen is an Islamic cleric whom President Recep Erdogan of Turkey considers as his strongest rival.

After the botched July 15 coup, Erdogan launched a massive crackdown on the investments of Gulen’s followers.

He blamed Gulen for the coup, but the cleric has denied the allegation.

A few weeks after the coup, the Turkish government asked the Nigerian government to shut down all the schools which had affinity with Gulen. But the Nigerian government did not oblige them.

The Turkish government has now resorted to deporting Nigerian students resident in the country.

THISDAY earlier reported how 50 students were arrested and detained.

Source: The Cable , October 1, 2016

Tags: | | | | | |


Related News

Avni: New plot under way to blame Gülen movement for PKK attacks

A whistleblower who tweets under the pseudonym Fuat Avni has claimed that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his accomplices have devised a new plot against the faith-based Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement, in which they will place blame for the recent increasing violence across Turkey on the movement.

Transparency and trust is our only weapon says Turkish NGO chairman

İsmail Cingöz underlined how Kimse Yok Mu is an organization praised around the world for its independent, transparent and efficient humanitarian aid activities and that the current investigation of it being an armed terrorist group is being closely monitored by international agencies including those in the UN and EU.

What is the problem between the AK Party and Hizmet?

İHSAN DAĞI Since the government demands unconditional loyalty and the subordination of social forces, the economic, political and intellectual independence of the Hizmet movement from the government seems to be the problem. The state in Turkey remains the central agent capable of and willing to suppress social and economic actors. In the absence of checks […]

Questions on a Coup – Did Erdogan engineer it himself?

Now that Erdogan has cleared away all of his rivals from within, he has aggressively demanded that the U.S. extradite his only remaining serious rival – Fethullah Gulen. It would be unconscionable and immoral for the U.S. to comply with the wishes of a power hungry and merciless dictator. When the smoke has finally cleared we may discover that Erdogan himself has engineered the coup as an excuse for a final crackdown on the opposition and to solidify his autocratic rule.

AK Party vs. Cemaat?

Ali Ünal Of the many seemingly true claims that have been put forward in regards to the discussions that have come about surrounding the Turkish government’s attempt to close down exam prep-courses, some arguments bear good intentions while others call the Hizmet Movement to “keep quiet” with arguments that lie far from the truth. One […]

Turkey’s fight against Gülen in the South Caucasus

The Turkish authorities’ fight against real and imagined enemies in the Gülen movement has now reached Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Latest News

Sacramento leaders gather for Iftar dinner in celebration of Ramadan

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

In Case You Missed It

When Iconic Islamic scholar wins prestigious peace award

Thousands pay final respects to Gülen’s brother in Erzurum

Turkey wants India to crack down on ‘Gulen’ schools

‘Parallel’ lies won’t patch giant tear, Gülen tells government

Deporting Gülen would undercut NATO

Already feeling unsafe in Turkey

President Gül says Turkish Olympiads ‘greatest service’ to Turkey

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News