The Turkish government has raised fresh concerns over the continued presence and activities of the Fethullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO) in Nigeria, warning that the group remains a threat not only within the country but across the world.
Mehmet Poroy, Turkey’s Ambassador-designate to Nigeria, 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.
The event, held annually, marks the anniversary of the July 15, 2016 failed coup attempt in Turkey, which the Turkish government blames on the FETO network, allegedly masterminded by US-based cleric Fethullah Gülen.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the coup was foiled through what Turkey described as the heroic resistance of its patriotic security forces and civilians loyal to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Ambassador Poroy warned that members of the Gülen movement, which Ankara has designated a terrorist organisation, continue to operate globally and are still being tracked, arrested, and dismantled in different parts of the world.
“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, Poroy was quoted by NAN.
“In several countries, including Nigeria, FETO continues to pump its operations under the presence 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.
NAN reports that the Gülen movement, (known as Hizmet or Service in Turk language), is purportedly a transnational, religious, educational, and social organisation, founded in late 1950.
Its founder, Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish Islamic scholar, died as a Turkish fugitive in Oct. 2024 at the age of 83, in Pennsylvania, United States.
The Turkish government accuses Gülen of masterminding the 2016 bloody coup, which claimed at least 251 lives, and has officially designated the group as a global terrorist organisation.
Nine years after the coup, Türkiye has continued its aggressive global campaign against the group, saying it still operates worldwide, although the group has denied the terrorism tag.
Türkiye has been engaged in a massive global crackdown on the group, seizing or freezing billions of dollars of Gülen-linked assets and institutions, including schools, universities, foundations, associations, and companies.
NAN also reports that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, OIC; the Gulf Cooperation Council, GCC, alongside countries like Pakistan and Northern Cyprus have designated FETO as a terrorist organisation.