The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has dismissed reports suggesting the presence of a new terror group, the Fethullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO) in Nigeria.
Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, in a statement on Thursday, debunked the claims, stressing that Nigeria is a sovereign nation capable of making its own security and counterterrorism decisions.
This clarification comes after remarks by the Turkish government alleging that individuals linked to FETO were operating in Nigeria under the guise of educational and healthcare organisations.
Speaking at a dinner in Abuja on Tuesday to mark Turkey’s Democracy and National Unity Day, the Turkish Ambassador-designate to Nigeria, Mehmet Poroy, claimed that FETO still maintains an active presence in the country, warning that such groups pose security threats, particularly within the education and healthcare sectors.
Meanwhile, Kangye also revealed key operational successes recorded by troops across different regions of the country.
“In Borno State, troops of Operation Hadin Kai arrested two officials of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Isah Abdullahi and Abdullahi Mohammed over alleged involvement in suspicious activities linked to terrorism. The suspects were apprehended in Liya, Biu Local Government Area, while receiving a waybill from a truck driver, in line with earlier intelligence reports,” he said
Additionally, troops arrested another suspected terrorist logistics supplier, Shaibu Bulama, at Damasak Motor Park in Yobe State, alongside 11 collaborators. Seven kidnapped victims were also rescued during operations in the Northeast.
Kangye further disclosed that sustained military operations led to the surrender of 16 family members of terrorists comprising four adult females and 12 children to troops in Bama Local Government Area on July 14, 2025. Preliminary investigations revealed they surrendered from Bakura Jega village.
In the Southeast, troops of Operation Udo Ka arrested a tax collector working for the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State.