Turkish govt has declared war on us, Nigerian student cries out from hiding


Date posted: October 2, 2016

Fredrick Nwabufo

Nigerian students in Turkey are in hiding following the government’s crackdown on them.

One of the affected students, who spoke to TheCable on Sunday, said that the Turkish government had declared an all-out war on them.

He said this is as a result of the refusal of President Muhammadu Buhari to accede to the request of closing down schools that shared the philosophy of Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic cleric who was blamed for the July 15 botched coup.

The Turkish schools in Nigeria are owned by the followers of Gulen, and the operation of the institutions is couched in Hizmet philosophy, which extols the virtues of charity, knowledge, peace and hard work.

The Nigerian government declined to shut down the schools after the Turkish government failed to show evidence that their sponsors were terrorists.

The source told TheCable that Nigerian students in Turkey were holed up in their rooms for fear of being arrested and deported.

“They (Turkish government) closed the private universities after the coup because they claimed they were affiliated to a terrorist organisation. Most of us international students were affected. My university was Fatih,” he said.

“The government said that they would transfer us to Instanbul University, and they promised to let us continue our studies. But on Sunday, September 25, they started arresting and deporting Nigerian students.

“But I know that students from Niger and Somalia were not harassed, arrested nor deported because their home governments shut down schools linked to the Hizmet movement at the request of the Turkish government.

“We are scared of leaving our rooms for fear of being arrested and charged with terrorism, or deported. Most of us are in our final year. What do we do?

“There is a man-hunt for Nigerian students in Turkey. We are holed up in our rooms.”

On Saturday, TheCable reported that the Turkish government had commenced a massive deportation of Nigerian students.

ThisDay newspaper had also reported that 50 Nigerian students were being detained in the country.

Source: The Cable , October 2, 2016

Tags: | | | | | |


Related News

Censored by theft: Man caught stealing copies of Zaman daily

In the video footage, the young man is seen stealing three Zaman newspapers placed in the mail boxes of an apartment building. When asked by the subscriber who was filming why he was stealing the newspapers, the thief said his father was the AK Party’s Beylikdüzü provincial chairman and that his father had initiated the campaign against Zaman because it is defaming the party.

The cleric, the coup and the conspiracy

In Pennsylvania, Gülen and his aides scrambled to denounce the coup attempt as it unfolded. “As someone who suffered under multiple military coups during the past five decades, it is especially insulting to be accused of having any link to such an attempt,” Gülen said in a statement, referring to Turkey’s spotty democratic history. The U.S. also was quick to condemn the coup attempt, but not quick enough for many in the Turkish government and media.

Erdogan – Turkey’s desperate president

There is a curious reluctance on the part of the Turkish government to carry out an in-depth investigation of the coup, but the blame has been put unequivocally on an erstwhile ally, Fethullah Gülen, a reclusive Turkish imam resident in Pennsylvania, and the cadres of his movement, which enabled Erdogan and the AKP to come to and hold power.

Couple offering wedding feast to Syrian refugees surprised by feedback

A Turkish couple who have made their way onto major newspapers around the world for spending their wedding day feeding 4,000 Syrian refugees in the southern province of Kilis on the Syrian border have said they never thought they would receive so much positive feedback for their action.

Separate state and religion

Turkey needs to face the fact that experience gained over the course of almost a century has shown that the marriage of state and religion is detrimental to both. If Turkey is to ever consolidate a liberal and pluralist kind of democracy, state and religion need to be separated, and freedom for believers and nonbelievers alike has to be secured.

Gulen followers encourage education, awareness

In spite of the recent subversive attempts to have cleric Fethullah Gulen extradited to Turkey, members of the Alliance for Shared Values are encouraging education and awareness to combat the government’s tactics.

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

Senegalese PM Addresses Gulen Movement Conference in Dakar

African Union Commission chair receives Gülen peace award

Gülen: Alevi-Sunni brotherhood should not be marred by bridge controversy

Shining Turkish schools cement Iraq’s social unity

Opposition deputy seeks answers on gov’t ban on Kimse Yok Mu

Philip Clayton on Fethullah Gulen and Hizmet Movement

What was the ‘postmodern coup’ about?

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News