Nigeria, Turkey plan joint move against terrorism

A handout picture taken and released on October 19, 2017 by the Turkish Presidential Press Office shows Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) shaking hands with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari during a meeting at the presidential palace in Ankara. KAYHAN OZER / TURKISH PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / AFP

President Muhammadu Buhari and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed during talks yesterday in Ankara to strengthen cooperation between the security agencies of both countries to tackle terrorism.

At a joint press conference after the meeting, President Buhari said he was ‘’very pleased’’ that the defence ministers of both countries held extensive discussions on developing new strategies for counter-terrorism.

‘’We are very pleased with the progress of the meeting so far and we are going to wait for the details. We will as a result of the meeting between the ministers and officials of both countries strengthen rapidly whatever their recommendations are,’’ Buhari said.

Buhari said the improved security situation in the North-East was an eloquent testimony to the efforts of his administration in combating terrorism since he came into office in 2015.

‘’We were very surprised and disturbed by the claim made by Boko Haram on what they have been getting from ISIS. We know we will be able to contain them and we have proved that we can do it.

‘’We are very pleased that Turkey is in a position to assist us and has been strengthening our educational and health institutions,’’ he said.

Buhari, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, yesterday said the two leaders also discussed the prospects of increasing their bilateral trade, which has exceeded $779 million in the first eight months of 2017.

According to Erdogan, Nigeria has great potential and remains “a global actor in terms of economy, demographics and its peacekeeping records.”

According to him, Turkey is interested in investing in Nigeria’s electricity, refineries and gas sectors. He said increasing the flights between Turkey and Nigeria would further improve commercial and people-to-people relationships.

On the fight against terrorism, the Turkish leader said: ‘’There is no difference between Boko Haram, Fethullah Terrorist Organisation or Daesh (ISIS), which have all killed, inflicted pain and hardship on innocent people.

‘’All of these organisations are hordes of murderers that feed on the innocent people, and in the fight against terrorism, we will stand with our Nigerian friends, and we are ready to share our experience and provide all kinds of support.

‘’We also expect the same cooperation from Nigeria in fighting against Fethullah that murdered 250 Turkish citizens last year.’’