Reps urge Federal Govt to intervene in Nigerian students’ detention in Turkey


Date posted: October 4, 2016

Abuja –  The House of Representatives on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to quickly intervene and ensure the rescue of 50 Nigerian students detained by Turkish government.

This followed the unanimous adoption of a motion under matters of urgent public importance moved by Rep. Solomon Maren (PDP-Plateau).

Moving the motion, Maren expressed worry over continued detention of the students over alleged link with terrorist group accused of masterminding the failed coup in Turkey.

It would be recalled that 50 Nigerian students were on September arrested and detained in Istanbul Airport on arrival to pursue their education.

He urged the Federal Government to explore the diplomatic channels to rescue the students as well as conduct an investigation into the alleged link with terrorism.

According to Maren, the students were being forced into signing documents for deportation, forced to pay penalties on the allegation of entering the country illegally, humiliated and abused.

“There is need for quick intervention so that the children will be rescued. “In this regard, the Federal Government should deploy all the diplomatic channels to rescue the detained Nigerian students

“If urgent steps were not taken to checkmate this ugly trend of humiliation, abuse and extortion, these students may have their career truncated thereby leading them into crime and destruction of human resources required for the growth of the country, ’’ Maren said.

Contributing to the motion, Rep. Nnanna Igbokwe (PDP-Imo) suggested that House Committees on Education, Foreign Affairs and Interior be involved in the matter to engender holistic investigation.

Igbokwe said that the arrest may be connected to refusal of Nigerian government to close down all Turkish schools operating in Nigeria.
Similarly, Chairman House Committee on Tertiary Education, Rep. Aminu Suleiman described the action as vendetta.

According to Suleiman, the Turkish Ambassador in Nigeria had requested the Nigerian authorities to close down 17 Turkish schools in Nigeria for alleged link with Hizmet movement.

“The government rejected the call due to lack of concrete evidence linking the school or their proprietors with the failed coup,’’ he said.

Ruling on the motion, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara referred the matter to Committees on Diaspora, Education and Interior to investigate and report back in one week.

Source: Nigerian Observer , October 4, 2016

Tags: | | | | | |


Related News

Halki, pope, patriarch and Gülen

The way Turkey’s chief political Islamist and new president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has approached the reopening of the Halki seminary, a school that had trained Eastern Orthodox clergy for the Patriarchate for more than a century until it was forcibly shut down in 1971, represents a fundamental flaw in the thinking of so-called Islamists, who place more emphasis on symbolism than substance and like very much to employ divisive and hateful discourse as opposed to reaching out and embracing different faiths and cultures.

Alevis voice unease over lack of promised rights at Abant meeting

Alevis have expressed at Abant meeting their uneasiness over pro-government comments claiming that the Gezi Park protests were an “Alevi uprising,” warning against a “dangerous approach that encourages wrong perceptions.” The title of this year’s Abant Platform, which started on Dec. 13, was “Alevis and Sunnis: Searching for Peace and a Future Together.” It was organized by the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV), a group affiliated with the Gülen Movement.

GYV praised for response to accusations about Hizmet movement

FATMA DİŞLİ ZIBAK, ALİ ASLAN KILIÇ, İSTANBUL/ANKARA An 11-article statement released by the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) on Tuesday in response to a series of controversial claims and slanderous accusations made about the Hizmet movement has received appreciation and applause from many who said the statement is a good response to those who wish […]

‘Consider your husband dead, start a new life,’ prosecutor tells detainee’s wife

Cumhuriyet daily columnist Aydın Engin wrote on Wednesday that the wife of a detainee sent him a letter claiming that a prosecutor told her to consider her husband dead since he can never be freed.

Islamic scholar Gülen sues interior minister over coup accusation

“Making efforts to set people up against one another and stir hostility by expressing those words is a behavior morally unacceptable,” lawyer Nurullah Albayrak said.

Somali denies allegations that ‘aid supplies did not reach camp’

The claim was also denied by the person in charge of the camp, Ibrahim Abdinur Muhammed, demonstrating that defamatory activities are being conducted by pro-government media outlets against Hizmet movement.
Muhammed said the organization had helped 450 families living in the camp and that it continues to send assistance to the camps in six other locations in Somali in the form of health and food supplies and clothing as well as education tools.

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 school declared most successful in Denmark

Opposition up in arms over Erdoğan’s badmouthing of Turkish schools abroad during visit to Ethiopia

Turkey – Baby with Down syndrome suffers major health problems in absence of jailed parents

Pro-Erdoğan troll calls on gov’t to execute Gülen followers

Turkish festival brings students from 27 countries to Ethiopia

Fethullah Gülen lawsuit [in the US] thrown out in setback for Turkey’s Erdoğan

Journalist Gültaşlı: European institutions are ‘cherry-picking’ imprisoned journalists in Turkey

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News