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

“Hizmet” movement, the current tensions and self-criticism (Interview with Ihsan Yilmaz)

My fourth criticism is the lack of empathy. We haven’t empathized enough with Kurds, Armenians and Greeks. In 2011, Journalists and Writers Foundation said to the commission of Constitution in the parliament that, besides Turkish, using Kurdish as a language of education should be considered a human right.

In Turkey, The Man To Blame For Most Everything(!) Is A U.S.-Based Cleric

It isn’t just last month’s attempted coup that the Gulen movement is being blamed for! Everything from suicide bomb attacks to past mine disasters are being laid at the cleric’s doorstep. Just to name a few: last November’s Turkish shootdown of a Russian fighter jet, an explosion at a coal mine in Soma led to an underground fire that killed 301 people in 2014, a horrific suicide bombing at a wedding in Gaziantep killed dozens in August and even killing of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in 2007.

Unbelievably corrupt!

Islamism in this sense [ party comes before the government] is over. The Muslim world is looking towards a post-Islamist paradigm by means of perceptions about citizenship, constitution, the state and civil society.

Turkish schools building peace in Africa

The Young Kastamonu Businessmen Association members visited Mehmet Akif High School, one of the eleven Turkish schools in Morocco and had meetings with the members of the Turkish-Moroccan Businessmen Association. The KIAD (Kastamonu Businessmen Association) organized a business trip to Morocco and were greeted at Casablanca Airport with roses by the Moroccan businessmen. The Young […]

Turkish Airlines stops distribution of Zaman and Today’s Zaman on its planes

Turkey’s flagship carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) has put an embargo on dailies affiliated with the Fethullah Gülen Movement, which has been in at odds with the government over an ongoing corruption investigation. The airline, 74 percent of which is owned by the state, had already stopped delivering the English-language daily Today’s Zaman in airport terminals and on planes before slashing the distribution of its Turkish sibling, daily Zaman, by two-thirds.

Qatar deports 45 Turkish nationals over Gülen links

Pro-government Sabah daily newspaper claimed on Saturday that 45 Turkish nationals were deported from Qatar for having links to the Gulen movement. The daily said two of those 45 people — academic Zekeriya Özşevik and his wife Derya Özşevik — were detained upon their arrival to Istanbul, giving no detail about the whereabouts of the others.

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

Nigeria: Our students in Turkey

A Year Ago Today: Teacher Gökhan Açıkkollu died of torture on his 13th day in police custody

Gulen Movement’s Global Appeal: Reflections from Chicago

Private schools leave mark on Science Olympiad

Shahbaz lays foundation stone of Pak-Turk school

Why Gulen Should Not Be Extradited

Hira magazine changes perception of Turkey in Arab world

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News