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

Brazilian senator impressed by Hizmet investments in education

Respected Brazilian senator and Professor Cristovam Buarque, well known for his dedication to education, told Sunday’s Zaman during a visit to İstanbul that he has been impressed by the investments of Turkish businessmen who are inspired by the Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement, in education even without an expectation of profit.

Gülen’s lawyer files criminal complaint against several Twitter accounts

In the criminal complaint, which was filed at the Ankara Public Prosecutor’s Office, it was written that suspects were claimed to have committed a crime by “tapping phone calls, and [making] audio and visual recordings [of] Mr. Gülen illegally.”

Washington mute as Turkey spying allegations cause outrage

Washington has refused to either confirm or deny allegations that its security intelligence agency had been involved in spying on top-level Turkish officials, while Turkish critics fear it could make the country’s security vulnerable, if the allegations are true.

‘Islam and I’

The number of books written by Western academics on Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s ideas and Hizmet, the faith-based social movement he has inspired, is growing.

Exhibit lets Iraqi women tell stories of heartbreak and hope

The Gulen movement has built hundreds of schools worldwide, including those in northern Iraq that Kirk studied. Construction on those schools began about six years after the 1988 massacre by Saddam’s government of more than 150,000 Kurds and other ethnic groups in the region.

Erdoğan’s Baku visit will not close Hizmet schools

Heydar Aliyev, an experienced and far-sighted politician, always supported these schools and we cannot say that the decisions to open the doors of the country to these schools was of no benefit. The schools have for years maintained the trust of the government because they are integrated with Azerbaijani society and its values. To think that the schools opened with blessings of Heydar Aliyev will be shut down by his son İlham Aliyev would be naïve.

Latest News

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

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Turkish PM Erdoğan launches another war [in Turkey]

London newspaper forced to shut as Erdogan allies seek vengeance

Critics of Turkey’s president across Europe tell of threats

Turkey to pay huge compensation for post-coup rights violations, main opposition says

Foundation gives to poor students

Kurds, Turkey and growing with Öcalan’s help?

EP condemns media crackdown in name of rule of law, press freedom

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News