The Turkish government has raised the alarm over the continued activities of members of the Fethullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO) in Nigeria, warning that the group is operating under the guise of education and healthcare services.
Turkish Ambassador-designate to Nigeria, Mehmet Poroy, issued the warning on Tuesday night in Abuja during a dinner organised by the Turkish Embassy to commemorate Türkiye’s Democracy and National Unity Day.
The annual ceremony marks the foiled July 15, 2016 coup attempt in Türkiye, which the Turkish government blames on the FETO network, led by the late Turkish cleric, Fethullah Gülen.
Poroy said members of the Gülen movement, which Ankara has officially designated a terrorist group, continue to pose a threat wherever they exist and are still being apprehended in countries across the world.
“They are still being captured and arrested today. The presence of such an organisation poses a threat to every country in which it operates,” the ambassador said.
“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 added.
The Turkish diplomat stressed that through international cooperation, Turkey has dismantled several FETO networks in allied nations, and reclaimed many institutions previously linked to the organisation.
According to him, “Numerous institutions, especially schools that form part of FETO’s international network, have been taken over by Turkish institutions.”
He, however, admitted that the group’s global structure remains intact in some countries.
“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.
It is worth mentioning that the Gülen movement, known as Hizmet (Service) in Turkish, was founded in the late 1950s by Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish Islamic scholar.
Read also: Father of missing AAUA student confirms daughter’s death
Gülen, who fled to the United States in the 1990s, died in October 2024 at the age of 83 in Pennsylvania, where he had lived as a fugitive.
The Turkish government has repeatedly accused him of masterminding the failed 2016 coup, which claimed at least 251 lives, and has designated the group as a global terrorist organisation.
Nine years after the attempted coup, Ankara has intensified its global crackdown on the Gülen network, shutting down or taking over schools, universities, foundations, and other institutions linked to the movement.
Türkiye has also frozen billions of dollars in Gülen-related assets.
Meanwhile, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and countries such as Pakistan and Northern Cyprus have also declared FETO a terrorist organisation.
