Islamic Group Warns Turkish President, Recep Erdogan, On His Visit To Nigeria

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has issued a stern warning to Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, asking him to stop prosecuting opposition leader back home in Turkey.

MURIC berated the president ahead of his arrival in Nigeria today, Monday, on a state visit.

According to Daily post The Muslim rights group, in a statement signed by its director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, accused Erdogan of arbitrary arrest, torture, political killings, long imprisonment of opposition figures and critics, particularly members of the Hizmet Movement.

The President is expected to sign some business deals with the Nigerian government led by President Muhammadu Buhari.

And MURIC claimed that Erdogan’s visit leaves a sour taste in the mouth because of his alleged undemocratic and tyrannical practices back home in Turkey.

He cooked up a phantom coup on 15th July, 2016 to justify sweeping changes to the constitution and he arrogated extensive powers to himself as president,” MURIC said.

“What followed was arbitrary arrest, torture, political killings, long imprisonment of opposition figures and critics, particularly members of the Hizmet Movement.

However Travelling documents of key members of Hizmet were Hold and their properties were confiscated. They were thrown in jail in their thousands without fair trial. Members of the group who were outside Turkey were disallowed from returning.

Erdogan also uses his diplomats in Nigeria to label members of the Hizmet as terrorists. This is a very wicked attempt to push Nigerian security agencies to arrest, intimidate and unduely punish innocent refugees and asylum seekers.

“Members of their families whom they left behind in Turkey are also not allowed to travel out to unite with their loved ones in Nigeria. Thus we find Recep the tyrant masquerading as a liberal, Tayyip the dictator disguising as a democrat and Erdogan the bully pretending to be a hero. Afraid of his own shadow, Erdogan has forcefully separated husbands from their wives and children from their parents.

MURIC rejects the double standard and hypocritical pretence of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. We charge him to leave members of Hizmet who are resident in Nigeria alone. We call on Erdogan to fling open the doors of Turkish prisons and torture chambers if he wants to be embraced by the international community.

“The whole world is now fully aware that Erdogan is an enemy of democracy. Allah-given fundamental human rights, including freedom of speech, freedom of movement, freedom of association and the rule of law are alien to Erdogan’s political philosophy. The whole of Turkey has become a huge prison camp in the grips of a vicious ruler.