4,000 Nigerians in Turkey prisons – IG

By Albert Akpor, Evelyn Usman & Daniel Eteghe

The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, yesterday, in Lagos, said that no fewer than  4,000 Nigerians  are in Turkey prisons over drug related and human  trafficking cases.

The IG who arrived from Turkey,  vowed to fish out killers of the four students of University of Port Harcourt and those at Mubi, in Adamawa State.

Briefing  journalists on arrival at the Police Air Wing, Ikeja, Abubakar  explained that  his visit to Turkey was to share experience, exchange ideas and acquire knowledge  from his Turkish  counterpart. He noted that both countries would  soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU.

He, however, expressed dismay at the number of Nigerians in Turkey prisons, saying:  “Turkey is a very central country and most drug and human traffickers, pass through there. Unfortunately, we have 4,000 Nigerians who are in various prisons in that country. So, you can see that every day in the international airport in Turkey, arrests are made of drug and human traffickers, most of whom are Nigerians.”

He said that investigations into the  circumstance that led to the  gruesome killings of the four University of Port Harcourt students and those at Mubi, Adamawa State, had  commenced. “The investigation will tell what happened. I want to assure Nigerians that we are doing our best to apprehend the culprits of those ugly incidents and we shall not tolerate such barbaric acts in this country.  Nigerians will hear from me as soon as I am briefed by the Commissioners of Police and the Zonal Assistant Inspector Generals, based on their documentations,” he said.

Abubakar debunked insinuations that there was disharmony between the Police and students, explaining that it was improper for the police to storm the premises of any University without a written invitation by the Vice Chancellor.

He added that the responsibility of fishing out the killers rests more on traditional rulers and residents of the areas.