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ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged cooperation with Nigeria in its fight against Boko Haram but said he expected the African nation’s support against a movement led by US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating last year’s failed coup.
Speaking at a joint news conference on Thursday with Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, Erdogan reiterated Turkish assertions that schools run by Gulen’s movement in Africa were being used to raise “militants.”
Buhari was in the Turkish capital for a meeting of “Developing-8 (D-8)” countries, which also includes Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia and Pakistan.
Erdogan also said Turkish customs authorities were engaged in talks with their Nigerian counterparts over how hundreds of rifles allegedly made their way to Nigeria from Turkey.
Gulen denies involvement in the coup.
At a time of tense relations with the EU and the US, Turkey has been moving to broaden its influence in Africa, opening new diplomatic missions and air links.
Erdogan has himself been a frequent visitor to the continent, most recently traveling to Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar in January.
Erdogan said Turkey saw no difference between Boko Haram and Daesh and the group of Gulen.
“These organizations are the killers who feed off the blood of the innocent,” he said.
Asked how Turkey could help Nigeria defeat Boko Haram, Erdogan replied that intelligence cooperation was of the utmost importance.
Buhari will on Friday travel to Istanbul to attend the D8 summit.
“There are a lot of potentialities in terms of investment. Already a lot is being done in the education and the health sectors,” said Buhari.
“This will be strengthened and Nigeria is prepared to receive Turkish business people to come and explore more of Nigeria’s potentialities,” he added.
Erdogan said he believed both sides would push trade volumes above $1.245 billion.
“Turkish business people are ready to take on the development of Nigeria,” he said.