All the Nigerian students arrested by the Turkish authorities in connection with a recent failed coup, have been freed, the country’s ambassador to Nigeria, Hakan Cakil, said yesterday.
The envoy, in a statement, said “regarding the news in the media about the detention of Nigerian students in Turkey, the embassy wishes to bring the following information to the attention of the esteemed Nigerian media.
“There are no Nigerian students under custody in Turkey”’, he said.
Cakil said the four Nigerians who were deported yesterday were not students, adding that they were arrested for entering the country illegally through the Turkish-Syrian border.
He added that the message had already been conveyed to the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The envoy maintained that Nigeria and Turkey enjoy a cordial relation and that his country would not pursue any policy against its strategic partner.
News Express reports that the release of the students came barely two days after the
National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) led by its newly elected president, Comrade Haruna Kadiri, staged a peaceful protest at the Turkish Embassy Abuja, during which NANS gave Turkey seven days to release the detained students or face severe consequences.
•Largely based on a Daily Trust on Sunday report.
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