From Boko Haram to smaller extremist factions, Nigeria continues to grapple with the presence of various terrorist groups. Now, the Turkish government has raised concerns over the operations of the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) within the country, warning that the group poses a global threat.<\/p>\n
Mehmet Poroy, the Turkish Ambassador-designate to Nigeria, issued the warning during a dinner held Tuesday night in Abuja to commemorate Turkey\u2019s Democracy and National Unity Day. The annual event marks the failed coup attempt of July 15, 2016, which Ankara attributes to FETO\u2014a group it claims attempted to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan\u2019s government.<\/p>\n
Ambassador Poroy stated that members of the G\u00fclen movement\u2014founded by the late Turkish cleric Fethullah G\u00fclen\u2014are still being arrested worldwide. He emphasized that their continued activities in any country represent a serious security risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cFETO members are still being captured and arrested. Their presence poses a threat to any country in which they operate,\u201d Poroy said. \u201cUnfortunately, the FETO terrorist organisation remains active in Nigeria, particularly in sectors like education and healthcare.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that the Turkish government regularly briefs Nigerian authorities about the group\u2019s activities and urges ongoing vigilance.<\/p>\n
Poroy noted that through global cooperation, T\u00fcrkiye has successfully dismantled many of FETO\u2019s international cells and networks, including educational institutions believed to be affiliated with the group. However, he cautioned that FETO\u2019s operations have not been completely eliminated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe continuation of arrests and investigations around the world shows that this threat requires persistent and determined action,\u201d he said. \u201cIn countries like Nigeria, FETO maintains a presence under the guise of humanitarian work, education, healthcare, and interfaith dialogue. But beneath this humanitarian image lies a group aiming to infiltrate political and bureaucratic systems.\u201d<\/p>\n
The G\u00fclen movement\u2014also known as Hizmet (Service)\u2014originated in the 1950s as a religious and educational initiative. Its founder, Fethullah G\u00fclen, died in October 2024 in Pennsylvania, USA, at the age of 83, while living in exile. The Turkish government has officially designated the movement as a terrorist organisation and blames it for the 2016 coup attempt that left at least 251 people dead.<\/p>\n
Since then, T\u00fcrkiye has pursued an aggressive international crackdown, seizing or shutting down schools, universities, foundations, and businesses linked to the movement. Billions of dollars in assets have reportedly been confiscated or frozen.<\/p>\n
Several international bodies and countries\u2014including the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Pakistan, and Northern Cyprus\u2014have formally recognized FETO as a terrorist organisation. However, the movement continues to deny any involvement in the coup or links to terrorism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From Boko Haram to smaller extremist factions, Nigeria continues to grapple with the presence of various terrorist groups. Now, the Turkish government has raised concerns over the operations of the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) within the country, warning that the group poses a global threat. Mehmet Poroy, the Turkish Ambassador-designate to Nigeria, issued the warning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5807,7],"tags":[7209,249,752],"class_list":["post-94492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-crime-and-violence","category-news","tag-feto","tag-nigeria","tag-turkey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=94492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94492\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=94492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=94492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=94492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}