The Turkish government has raised concerns about the presence of a terrorist group known as the Fethullah Terrorist Organisation operating in Nigeria and other countries across the globe.

Mehmet Poroy, the Turkish Ambassador-designate to Nigeria, stated that the group uses educational and health services to disguise its activities in Nigeria.

Poroy made this known on Tuesday night in Abuja during a dinner organised by the Turkish Embassy to commemorate Turkey’s Democracy and National Unity Day.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the event is held every year in remembrance of the failed July 15, 2016 coup in Türkiye, which the Turkish government attributes to FETO.

The Turkish government said the coup attempt was foiled through the collective resistance of patriotic citizens and government forces loyal to President Recep Erdoğan.

Poroy said members of the Gülen movement, which backed the coup, are still being apprehended around the world, and their operations in any country pose a serious threat.

“They are still being captured and arrested today. The presence of such an organisation poses a threat to every country in which it operates.

Unfortunately, the FETO terrorist organisation still maintains its activities in Nigeria, particularly in the fields of education and healthcare.

We consistently inform our Nigerian friends about the nature and dangers of this organisation, and urge them to remain vigilant and cautious,” Poroy said.

He explained that Turkey, through global partnerships, has successfully dismantled many FETO-linked cells and networks in allied countries.

Poroy added that many institutions, particularly schools associated with FETO, have been taken over by Turkish authorities.

However, he warned that the group’s international operations are still largely intact.

“The fact that new investigations and arrests into the organisation continue to be launched demonstrates the need for this struggle to be pursued with unwavering determination.

In several countries, including Nigeria, FETO continues to pump its operations under the guise of humanitarian aid, education, healthcare, and interfaith dialogue.

You must not forget that behind this humanitarian appearance lies an organisation that seeks to infiltrate the political and bureaucratic institutions of host countries,” Poroy warned.

The News Agency of Nigeria noted that the Gülen movement, known in Turkish as Hizmet (Service), is said to be a global religious, social, and educational movement founded in the late 1950s.

Its leader, Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish Islamic cleric, died as a fugitive in the United States in October 2024 at age 83.

The Turkish government has accused Gülen of orchestrating the 2016 coup, which resulted in the deaths of at least 251 people, and has since classified the movement as a terrorist organisation.

Nearly a decade later, Türkiye is still pursuing a wide-reaching crackdown on the group, maintaining that it continues to operate worldwide, despite the movement’s denial of being a terrorist organisation.

Türkiye has confiscated or frozen assets tied to Gülen globally, including schools, charities, companies, and associations.

The News Agency of Nigeria also reported that bodies like the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as countries such as Pakistan and Northern Cyprus have labelled FETO a terrorist group.

Credit: NAN

The Federal High Court in Lagos has cleared former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, of all money laundering accusations brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Delivering its verdict, the court accepted a “no-case submission” from Fayose’s legal team, ruling that the EFCC failed to provide adequate evidence to continue with the case.

Fayose had been accused of multiple instances of fraud and money laundering allegedly carried out while he served as governor.

After several years of legal battles, the court found that the prosecution had not made a “prima facie case”, resulting in Fayose’s release and acquittal.

Amina Mohammed, the deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, said the late former President Muhammadu Buhari was not at ease with politics, but he put those feelings aside in order to focus on leadership.

Buhari passed away on Sunday in London and was buried in Daura, Katsina state, on Tuesday. He served as Nigeria’s president from 2015 to 2023.

Speaking in an interview with Channels TV, Mohammed, who was minister of environment under Buhari from 2015 to 2016, paid tribute to her former principal.

She recalled that Buhari had encouraged her to accept the position of deputy secretary-general at the UN when the offer came.

We were sitting in a meeting in Marrakesh at a climate meeting, and Ban Ki-moon came over and said, ‘We think that the new secretary-general is going to ask you to come and be his deputy,’ and I said, ‘No, it’s not possible; I’ve come home, and I’m serving’, she said.

And then, I had a discussion with him (Buhari) to say that I really needed his support and if they came to ask him, he shouldn’t say yes. He said, ‘Of course not. We need all our people back here in the team to serve Nigeria; we need the best’.

So, I felt very confident and left Marrakesh for India, which was my next trip. And in India, I got a call from the current secretary-general to ask if I could be his deputy secretary-general.

So, I said with a lot of confidence, ‘I can’t. I can’t leave the service that I have, and I’m committed to President Muhamad Buhari.’

So, he said, “will you allow me to speak to him? I said, ‘Of course, you can speak to him’.

I have to tell you, I was very confident that my president would say no. So, I left India, I went home, and they said the president was looking for me.

I went and sat in front of him, and he talked to me for a long time about service, and I just thought, ‘My God, I know where he’s going’.

And at the end of it, after explaining why these things mattered in terms of representing the country. He said, ‘But of course, the decision is yours’. And in my head, I just thought, ‘My goodness me, of course, the decision is not mine’.

In our culture, when a man of that status, one that you look to as a father, speaks to you, know that he wants the best, and so the only thing you can say is ‘Yes, sir’.

Buhari was uncomfortable with politics

When asked about what Buhari’s leadership left behind for Nigerians, Mohammed said he believed in sacrifice and doing what was right for the country.

I think first and foremost is that this is an officer and a gentleman who went through from a military role to a democracy. He dropped his uniform, and he embraced democracy, she said.

I don’t think he was always comfortable with politics, but what he did was try and try and try again.

He believed in the rule of law, and he believed in a system that even if it was imperfect, he would keep trying until he got to where he needed to get to. And it was God’s will that he would be the president at the time he was.

Mohammed urged Nigerians to understand that, as Buhari did, national progress takes time and consistency.

The struggle of Nigeria is what I think he leaves—is that you don’t give up on this country; it’s the only one you have, and it is not perfect, but it’s up to us to do that nation building, she said.

And he was sometimes very excited and looked to see the potential and pushed us, but he was also at times disappointed in our responses in terms of what we were going to do and whether we were ready to go that last mile.

And I think that what we have to think about is that he gave it his all. Whenever he was asked to serve, he served, and we have to think about that.

To serve is not an easy thing to do. It is a sacrifice—enormous sacrifice to his wife, to his children, to his family, and to his lifestyle, because remember, he was also not a person who was always out there.

He was very much one that kept his own council and a very small gathering of trusted friends and family.

Mohammed said Buhari embodied conviction and consistency, and throughout her time working with him, he never strayed from his principles. She encouraged Nigerians to live by those same values.