Turkey seeks Nigeria’s support against US-based cleric, Gulen

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari speak during a joint news conference at the presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017. Buhari is visiting for talks with Turkish leaders and to attend a regional cooperation meeting in Istanbul. (Presidential Press Service, pool photo via AP)

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 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.”

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari shake hands before a meeting at the presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017. Buhari is visiting for talks with Turkish leaders and to attend a regional cooperation meeting in Istanbul. (Presidential Press Service, pool photo via AP)

Buhari was in the Turkish capital for a meeting of “Developing-8” countries, which also includes Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia and Pakistan.

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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.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, greets Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari during a welcome ceremony at the presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017. Buhari is visiting for talks with Turkish leaders and to attend a regional cooperation meeting in Istanbul. (Presidential Press Service, pool photo via AP)

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, and Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari inspect a military honour guard during a welcome ceremony at the presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017. Buhari visits for talks with Turkish leaders and to attend a regional cooperation meeting in Istanbul. (Presidential Press Service, pool photo via AP)

Erdogan said Turkey saw no difference between Boko Haram and Islamic State (IS) and the group of the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen blamed for the 2016 failed coup.

“These organisations 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.

Boko Haram’s quest to establish a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria has left at least 20,000 dead and threatened regional security.

Buhari will on Friday travel to Istanbul to attend a summit of the Developing-8 (D-8), a grouping of growing mainly-Muslim countries first envisaged by Erdogan’s late political mentor and former Turkish premier Necmettin Erbakan.