The House of Representatives on Tuesday issued a seven-day ultimatum to Turkish Government to release over 50 Nigerian students being held in detention. The House called on the federal government to urgently deploy all diplomatic options to ensure their immediate release.
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. According to Rep. Aminu 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.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suspended nearly 13,000 police officers over suspected links to Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based cleric Turkey says is responsible for the July 15 coup attempt. Erdogan’s critics believe he has used the coup as an opportunity to crack down on his political opposition. Erdogan was often accused of trying to silence critics.
The ongoing purge leaves no room for doubt that the Turkish government is ready to go to any lengths to eliminate the Gülen movement. The current rise in homegrown Islamist radicalization is another sign that Turkey’s social fabric is undergoing a noxious change. The major effect of this change has been damage to the traditional mainstream understanding of Islam in Turkey.
Turkish police detained Fethullah Gulen’s brother on Sunday. Fethullah is one of five siblings. He has three brothers – Mesih, Salih, and Kutbettin – and two sisters, Nurhayat and Fazilet. Turkey accuses the preacher of organizing the July 15 coup attempt. His organization denies any involvement in the coup.
Describing Gülen movement people as “microbes,” the prime minister told citizens to “cleanse the microbes” from society as they serve the country and the nation no good. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had called Gülen sympathizers “viruses” long before Turkey’s massive purge accelerated in the post-July 15 era.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaye, has said that the Nigerian students who were arrested in Turkey for an alleged role in the July coup attempt in Turkey may have been paying for the refusal of the Nigerian government to shut down some Turkish schools and institutions in Nigeria.
Fethullah Gulen: Once again, the Turkish media, under government control or government pressure, is circulating horrific rumors, this time about a supposed second coup attempt in the works, supposedly prepared by my sympathizers with the backing of the United States. Such rumors are unfounded and irresponsible.
The main opposition party leader has said Turkey will pay a big price and an enormous amount of compensation for gross human rights violations caused by government decrees issued during a state of emergency declared after an abortive coup. “I saw the March 12 [1971] and Sept. 12 [1980] coups, but I never saw such a picture like today,” he said
President Erdogan says the state of emergency might be needed for another year to crush the “terrorist” threat. More than 130 media outlets have been shut down, the pro-Kurdish IMC TV the latest victim. The authorities have started releasing 38,000 prisoners, to make way for the new arrests.
Nigerian students in Turkey are in hiding following the government’s crackdown on them. “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?” students said.
One of the brothers of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, Kutbettin, has been detained in the western province of İzmir. More than 100,000 people have been purged from state bodies, 32,000 arrested since the coup attempt. Arrestees include journalists, judges, prosecutors, police and military officers, academics, governors and even a comedian.
A Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy has said there will be no investigations into claims of torture and mistreatment of people put into prison after a July 15 coup attempt if those victims are sympathizers of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.
The 2nd Criminal Court in the southern province of Hatay rejected an indictment prepared about the Fethullah Gülen Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), a term used by the Turkish government to describe the Gülen movement, saying that there is no such a terrorist organization officially identified.