Pro-Erdogan Turks protest in Nigeria

Turkish nationals in Nigeria took to the streets of the administrative capital, Abuja; calling for support for president Recep Tayyip Erdogan who survived a July 15 coup attempt.

About 100 protesters waved Turkish flags and sang in praise of Erdogan. The procession which started from Abuja’s international conference center, ended at the Turkish embassy where the ambassador, Hakan Cakil received them.

Cakil had late last month revealed that the Turkish government had requested the closure of 17 school in Nigeria with links to the alleged mastermind of the botched coup plot, US-based Turk, Fetullah Gulen. He has repeatedly denied the allegations.

“In Nigeria, there are 17 schools, which belong to the Gulen Movement, one in Kano, one in Kaduna, one in Abuja, Lagos etc and they are offering scholarships.

We are starting some legal procedures to take the name of Turkish out of the name of the schools. They are not the schools of the Turkish government,’‘ Cakil is reported by Vanguard online portal to have said.

The protesters comprised of two groups, Musiyad and Little Turkey Nigeria, local media reports. Meanwhile in Turkey, Erdogan’s ‘clean up’ following the coup continues. The government has arrested hundreds in relation to the coup.

Institutions linked with Gulen have been closed down across Turkey with Ankara extending the closures overseas by requesting governments to follow their lead. In Africa, Somalia has heeded such calls even though Nigeria is yet to decide on a course of action following the request.