'Nigerian students under government's protection' - Envoy

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Cakil made the statement during a dinner reception marking the 93rd anniversary of the founding of Turkey held in Abuja over the weekend, the New Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

He went on to shut down reports that 50 Nigerian students were arrested and detained in connection to the failed coup in Turkey.

Cakil said,“There were reports that about 50 Nigerians were arrested in Turkey. No Nigerian student is arrested or detained in Turkey.

“All the rights of the Nigerian students who are studying in Turkey are under the protection of the government.

“Unfortunately this was in the media that about 50 Nigerian students were detained or under arrest; these numbers do not reflect the real situation.

“It was a discussion of a non-existant issue.”

However, Cakil said that the bilateral ties between the two countries remain strong as they work towards strengthening those ties.

NAN reports that the Senior Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, while speaking with newsmen at the occasion, said that the reports of 50 arrested Nigerian issue were grossly exaggerated. Dabiri-Erewa also confirmed that the issue has been diplomatically resolved.

“The Turkish Ambassador who met with our permanent secretary made it clear that 50 Nigerian students were not detained.

“Two Nigerian students were detained for 11 hours but they were released as soon as the ministry got involved.

“Four Nigerians that they claimed were involved in the coup were released as soon as Nigeria stepped in.

“So there is no problem between Nigeria and Turkey, we continue to maintain strong diplomatic relations and we will also continue to ensure that issues are resolved diplomatically and not through sensations," she said.

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However, Dabiri-Erewa advised Nigerian students abroad to abide by the laws of the whatever country they are studying in while encouraging them to patronise learning institutions within Nigeria.

“Perhaps you do not need to go abroad because what you are looking for is also here in Nigeria and maybe even better.

“So we encourage them that under this administration the president is doing everything to make Nigeria truly a great place.

“There are some private universities here that are even better than where they are going to.

“Sometimes it is not necessary to go through all the stress our students have to go through but we just continue to educate them and raise awareness about all these issues,” she said.