In March of 2014, a senior adviser to Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, discussed shipments of weapons to Nigeria with the 50% government owned national Turkish airline, according to the leaked conversation.
The Turkish Airlines official reportedly said, "Lots of material is on its way to Nigeria right now. Is it going to kill Muslims or Christians? I am sinning right now, you should know."
Another man in the recorded tape, alleged to be Mustafa Varank, a senior aide to Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded that he would look into it. Ref: TheTimes & Reuters.
It was not the first time Turkey had been exposed discussing and/or supplying ammunition to Daesh (ISIS) and related terror and rebel groups. See: Al-Monitor; Reuters.
An official statement by Turkish airlines categorically declared that it “had not transported arms to Nigeria from Turkey or other countries.”
However Nigeria made two contradictory statements on the headlines, one very suspicious statement was by the Navy spokesman, Commodore Kabiru Aliyu who told Nigerians that Turkish airlines did indeed ship ammunition to Nigeria, not as they denied, and that, that March the Navy took delivery of arms imported by the airline through Lagos.
Disturbed by the real and action-necessitating revelations, that March, ENDS released a statement requesting official communication from Nigeria's Jonathan government and full investigation into the alleged Turkey arms to Boko Haram terrorists' mess. See: Did Turkey Ship Ammunition To Nigerian Terror Groups?, March 23rd, 2014, By ENDS.
It is recollected that this was the time of the Jonathan, Ihejirika, Ayo Oritsejafor, Gusau and Dasuki era where millions of dollars were allegedly laundered abroad and a government signatory arms-for-terror smuggling ring was recognized to be in operation. This was a time when weapons and cash drops to terrorists by helicopters were regularly sited and reported in Boko Haram's jungle territory.
The recent shooting down of a Russian airline by the Turkish government which happened by all accounts well within Syrian territory as the site of the ejected pilot landings further confirms, raises serious questions on the Erdogan government. The surviving pilot just told journalists that Turkey had not given them any warning before they were shot out of the skies over Syria. See BBC.
The well known operation of a Daesh-Turkey, Free Syrian Army aided free trade border where hundreds of Daesh oil tankers pass daily to sell oil to Turkey and earn millions of dollars for financing global terrorism raises even more flags. Indeed it was the week Russia announced that it had destroyed 1000 Daesh oil tankers which were going to Turkey to sell their oil that Turkey shot down the Russian jet. Turkey that has not shot at a single Daesh terrorist has rather shot down a Russian jet fighting Daesh.
We therefore strongly urge the Buhari-Osinbajo government to thoroughly investigate the past noted incident of Turkish airlines alleged ammunition shipment to Nigerian terrorists and all other Turkish interactions with Nigeria, Boko Haram and former government officials within the military and National Security office for evidence of terror linkage.
We have often repeated and insisted and insist that the war against Boko Haram can never be won without the sponsors and facilitators local and international being brought to book.
Dr. Peregrino Brimah
http://ENDS.ng [Every Nigerian Do Something]
Email: drbrimah@ends.ng Twitter: @EveryNigerian
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