17 schools connected with terrorism, Turkish Ambassador to Buhari
The Federal Government of Nigeria was on thursday alerted by Turkish envoy to the existence of schools
allegedly owned by suspected terrorists and want them shut down.
Turkey said it had officially notified
the Nigerian government “to the existence of 17 of such schools in
Nigeria, which bear the name of Turkey” but were not owned by the
European country.
The country said the institutions, which
ranged from schools to hospitals, were allegedly owned by the Fethullah
Gulen Terrorist Organisation allegedly founded by Fethullah Gulen
The Turkish government, which stated
that the country did not own any school in Nigeria, said similar schools
established in Turkey had been shut down.
A document released by the Turkish
embassy listed the indicted schools and institutions as Surat
Educational Limited, Abuja; Nigerian-Turkish International School, in
Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Yobe, Ogun and Lagos; and the Nigerian-Turkish Nile
University, Abuja.
Others, according to the embassy, are
The Association of Businessmen and Investors of Nigeria and
Turkey/Abinat, Abuja and Lagos; Ufuk Dialogue Foundation, Abuja;
Nigerian-Turkish Nizamiye Hospital, Abuja; and Vefa Travel Agency,
Abuja.
The Ambassador of Turkey to Nigeria, Mr.
Hakan Cakil, while speaking to the Vice- Chairman, Senate Committee on
Foreign Affairs, Shehu Sani, when the latter paid the diplomat a visit
at his Abuja office, allegedly that the owners of the schools sponsored
the recent coup in Turkey.
Sani was there in company with select journalists, including our correspondent.
According to the ambassador, confessions
by the coup plotters, who are currently under investigation, have
indicated that the same syndicate which hatched the botched July 15,
2016 coup, own the schools in Nigeria.
Cakil said the organisation and its
investments had enjoyed wide acceptance by the public in Turkey until
suspected coupists confessed to using the organisations for terrorist
activities.
The ambassador said, “You may be aware
that the Government of Turkey has started to investigate the sponsors of
the coup and it is now very clear that Gulen was behind the coup. There
are some testimonies we have taken from the military officials.
On the schools in Nigeria, the envoy
said, “In Nigeria, they have 17 schools; some of them are in Kano,
Abuja, Lagos, etc., and they are offering scholarships to their
graduates. They are not Turkish government schools. The schools bearing
“Turkish” are schools belonging to Fethullah Gulen.
“We are starting a legal process to take
the name “Turkish” out of the name of the schools. They are not the
schools of the Turkish government; they are misleading the public.
The ambassador alleged that the universities were used to indoctrinate international students including Nigerians by the group.
He added, “I have already contacted my
counterpart in Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and I have already
requested officially, both orally and written, for the closure of these
schools. Also, I have informed Mr. Geoffrey Onyema and Mr. Abba Kyari on
this subject, requesting their support on closing down the schools,” he
said.
The diplomat noted that his country had attached “too much importance” to the issue.
Sani, in his response, said the Nigerian government would first investigate the allegations before acting on them.
He said, “Those issues you raised are
issues someone like me will like to pursue to the end. We cannot claim
to be a democracy and harbour people who will overthrow government in
another country.
The Director of
Press and Public Communication, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Clement
Aduku, when contacted said he was not aware of the letter by the Turkish mission.
he sent in an SMS which read
“I have not seen any such of
communications yet, but will find out from our principals if they have
seen or received any update on the matter,”
