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Pope Leo XIV makes a recent visit to Turkey to protest inequality and a sense of exclusion, despite some progress being made in restoring their rights.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan frequently speaks of Turkey’s 86 million-strong, officially secular nation as saying, “99 percent of the population is Muslim.”

Yuhanna Aktas, president of the Assyrian Union, a group that represents Assyrian Christians in southeast Turkey, said, “Every time he says that, I feel excluded.

“We are not viewed as citizens of the highest order.”

According to historians, there are currently about 100,000 Christians in Turkey, up from nearly four million at the start of the 20th century, largely as a result of forced exile or massacres as modern Turkey emerges.

Pope Leo will visit Istanbul’s Assyrian Orthodox Mor Ephrem church, which was officially opened two years ago, where he will meet with local Christian leaders.

Turkey’s first new church constructed since 1923, the state granted the land, despite the country becoming a republic.

Despite a legal ban on non-Muslims from holding office, Christian minorities have also had trouble gaining representation. Many civil service positions have been closed to them.

According to Yetvart Danzikyan, editor-in-chief of the Armenian weekly Agos, “the only non-Muslim senior official in Turkey today is a local administrator from the Armenian community.”

The civil rights situation is adequately illustrated by this lone instance.

Aside from the lake, the Turkey Basilica illuminates early church life.

The Insiders of the Enemies

Christians and Jews were frequently referred to as “the enemies inside” by some government officials and media outlets for decades after Turkey’s independence, and they were also the target of discrimination and violence until the early 2000s.

And even today, the term “Armenian” is still occasionally used as an insult.

The London-based Minority Rights Group (MRG) stated in its 2024 report on Turkey that “non-Muslims were consistently discriminated against because the proponents of Turkish nationalism deemed them incapable of becoming Turks because of their&nbsp, religious identity.

The government has been making an effort to address that, according to Laki Vingas, the founder of Rumvader, a Greek community support group.

“The state and we have worked together for 20 years to correct the injustices of the past. He told AFP, “We have no trouble meeting with the authorities because this process is not yet complete,” despite the fact that he had previously told them.

Despite the community’s unsettling circumstances, Danzikyan noted, such as the growing trend toward conservatism under Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted government,

Violence has occurred: Hrant Dink, an Armenian journalist, was shot dead in Istanbul in 2007 and a young Armenian was killed while serving in the military four years later.

Armenians were threatened during the Nagorno-Karabakh war in 2020, and two gunmen shot dead and injured two people inside an Istanbul Catholic church in 2024.

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Violence

The controversial decision to convert Istanbul’s famous 4th-century Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque in 2020, according to Danzikyan, was another unsettling development.

He cited the closure of an Istanbul theological college in 1971, which had given the church its sole facility for training clergy in Turkey, as well as the possibility of reopening the Greek Orthodox seminary.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the subject of years-long blockade, brought it up in September at the White House, with US President Donald Trump promising to assist in reopening the case.

Despite a ban on such gatherings in public spaces, Turkish civil society is more willing to commemorate the Armenian genocide, a term that Turkey has vehemently rejected.

Vingas praised the emergence of “a much more open society, primarily in Istanbul,” where the majority of Turkey’s Christians reside, saying, “More and more people are asking questions than they are holding onto their prejudices.”

No number of lawyers could have altered the court’s decision convicting him of terrorism, according to Aloy Ejimakor, former counsel&nbsp to the proscribed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

Ejimakor refuted suggestions that more legal counsel might have affected the outcome in a Monday interview with Channels Television’s The Morning Brief program.

He claimed that “one million lawyers supporting Nnamdi Kanu would have altered the outcome of the case.”

The lawyer claimed that the court’s authority was invalid despite the fact that the evidence did not specifically link Kanu’s broadcasts to the South-East’s hostility.

The deed has been completed. Although the judge may have believed there was enough evidence to support his conviction, verdict, and sentence, I disagree.

I could not see a direct connection between the violence that claimed numerous lives and the broadcasts. Today, there is more violence. Are the broadcasts still going on? “he said.

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Ejimakor claimed that Kanu’s trial resembled historical ones involving prominent public figures and political figures, and that Kanu’s prosecution exhibited a similar pattern.

Before Pontius Pilate, the people who brought Jesus had already made up their minds. They urged the crucification of Christ and refused to release another condemned man.

Nelson Mandela was found guilty in any case despite not being involved in any violent activity in South Africa. No weapon was discovered. His personality was viewed as a threat.

He also made reference to the 1960 Awolowo case, saying that while he was a civilian, he had been accused of trying to overthrow the government. He had neither the means nor the opportunity, according to no evidence.

“In this particular case (Nnamdi Kanu), I’m not saying the judge was biased, but it was obvious that the system was determined to get him convicted.” He was taken in Kenya the day after that.

Kanu was found guilty of seven terrorist counts on Thursday, and Justice James Omotosho handed him a life sentence.

He ruled that Kanu’s broadcasts caused threats to diplomatic missions, infrastructure destruction, and attacks on security forces.

Justice Omotosho argued that self-determination cannot be achieved through violence and that Nigeria is still an indivisible state.

He demanded that Kanu’s transmitter be forfeited and that he be held in a secure facility without access to the internet.

Kanu’s attorneys argued that the sentence was excessive and made an appeal.

Ejimakor criticized Kanu’s move to the Sokoto Custodial Center, saying it had separated him from his family and legal team.

Former IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu’s counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, has criticised the move to the Sokoto Custodial Centre.

On Monday, Ejimakor addressed Kanu’s ability to pursue his appeal from Sokoto while speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief program, describing the transfer as “surprising” and “insensitive.”

“It surprised me, and I think everyone else did it, that he was taken from Abuja and transported to Sokoto, which is in the northernmost part of North-West Nigeria,” I said.

You’ll start to wonder if Sokoto can pursue this appeal. You’ll inquire about how he will go about filing it, he said.

READ ALSO: [UPDATED] Court Sentences Nnamdi Kanu To Life Imprisonment, Claims IPOB Leader To Be An “International Terrorist”

In accordance with Justice James Omotosho’s ruling, the Department of State Services moved Kanu to the Sokoto facility on Friday. According to a security source, the transfer occurred after his terrorism conviction and sentence.

Jurisdiction-related Questions

The lawyer argued that the Abuja Division remained the appropriate venue while the Sokoto Division of the Court of Appeal claimed that the case was not in the hands of the court of appeal.

The judge is not to blame for placing him in Sokoto. The executive branch, particularly the Correctional Service, is in charge once a sentence is issued. These concerns were perhaps not taken into account in that decision. His rights are being treated very poorly. Prisoners still have rights.

“Can Nnamdi Kanu successfully file his appeal or even start it from that location in Sokoto?” No, that’s the answer. In an effort to improve the detention conditions, what might transpire in the upcoming days or weeks.

There are other prisons in Abuja, according to the statement. He claimed that having those amenities nearby his relatives and legal advisors would have been better.

Ejimakor explained that Kanu’s presence was required unless he hired a lawyer, and that filing an appeal required several physical tasks.

He must file a notice of appeal, request transcripts, pay for them, review them, and participate in other court-related matters.

He said, “He has not yet indicated that he is going to hire any lawyer or inform anyone.”

Ejimakor claimed that Kanu’s lengthy trial demonstrated the system’s resolve to pursue him. He claimed that the development “demonstrates the system’s disdain for him.”

Judgement in the court

On Thursday, Justice Omotosho found Kanu guilty of terrorism on seven counts and gave him a life sentence.

Kanu’s broadcasts were used by the court to sabotage infrastructure, threaten diplomatic missions, and incite attacks against security forces.

Justice Omotosho ruled that self-determination couldn’t be achieved through violence and that Nigeria remained an indivisible state. He ordered Kanu’s transmitter to be taken away and placed him in a secure location without access to the internet.

READ MORE: “We Are Heading To Appeal,” Kanu’s Lawyer To Challenge Judgment

Kanu’s legal team has pledged to appeal the verdict, calling the sentence excessive.

Ejimakor criticized Kanu’s move to Sokoto in a statement posted on his X handle. Kanu was far removed from his supporters, family, and legal team, according to him.

In 2015, Kanu was first detained for treason and terrorism. Following a military raid on his home in 2017, he fled Nigeria. In disputed circumstances, he was detained again in Kenya in 2021 and later reappapprehended in Nigeria.

More than 8, 000 government employees will take their Computer-Based Test promotion exams starting on November 25, 2025, according to the Federal Capital Territory Administration.

Emeka Ezeh, the chairman of the FCT Civil Service Commission, said the exam would be open to staff members from 165 different Administration and Federal Capital Development Authority cadres.

The exams will last five days, with Sunday as the end date, according to Ezeh.

This week will see the participation of more than 8, 000 federal employees in promotion exams.

The National Open University Study Center along Kubwa Road, Abuja, will host the promotion exams for five days starting on Tuesday, November 25 through Saturday, November 29.

Remember that Lere Olayinka, the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister of Public Communication and News Media, announced the results of the first-ever Computer-Based Promotion Examination that took place on August 12, 2025.

According to him, 49 deputy directors were approved by Minister Nyesom Wike and elevated to the position of director across various departments.

He continued, “The exercise was intended to clear the backlog of promotion arrears for Grade Level 16 workers from 2023 to 2025.”

Ezeh noted that the new promotion cycle was authorized by the FCT Minister, who authorized the conclusion of it quickly in 2024.

He claimed Wike “provided the nod” as part of staff motivation, “ensuring that all cadres receive the long-awaited process.”

He added that the FCT Minister approved the FCT Civil Service Commission’s request to finish the 2024 promotion exercise for FCT/FCDA employees across all cadres as quickly as possible as part of staff motivation.

He further stated that the promotion would be conducted using the Computer-Based Test, adding that this would advance the FCT Minister’s approval of the newly developed digital platform for promotion exams.

He added that the administration embraces promotions in its entirety as a digital platform.

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The 38 victims who were saved from an attack on a Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in the state’s Eruku region have been received by the governor of Kwara, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.
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Most of the victims appeared elderly and worn-out at the Government House clinic, where medical staff members treated them.

Read more about Kwara Church holding its first service following a bandit attack and confirming the arrest of 38 worshipers kidnapped.

One of the freed victims described the bandits’ cruelty as harrowing.

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The man explained that it was challenging to break free from the bandits because those who were in need of them were given drugs, water, food, and those who were weak were taken into the hospital.

One of the church’s pastor thanked the federal and state governments for allowing the worshipers to leave.
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On his arrival at the clinic, the state governor spoke with some of the victims and assessed the situation of those receiving care inside.
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He continued, there was no time to celebrate the victims’ release because they had been held captive in other states.
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He thanked President Tinubu for his assistance in bringing the captives free.
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38 worshipers were set free on Sunday, according to the Kwara State Government.

However, it did not detail how the abducted people regained their freedom in a statement signed by Rafiu Ajakaye, his chief press secretary.

During a church service on Tuesday, gunmen abducted 38 worshipers and killed three people in an attack on the parish.

Many residents fled into nearby bushes for safety, according to eyewitnesses in the community who reported to Channels Television that the attackers stormed the area “suddenly and heavily armed.”

The bandits had requested $3 billion to release the victims, but the ransom was later reduced to $760 million.

Additionally, the attack sparked a protest by the neighborhood’s angry youths.

President Tinubu awaited further security updates on the kidnapped Kebbi schoolgirls and the attack on the church worshippers as he delayed making his scheduled travels to Johannesburg in South Africa and Luanda in Angola in response to the attack and others.

He also gave instructions to the police to pursue bandits who attacked worshippers.

The church held its first service on Sunday, where it clarified how many people had been abducted before the victims’ release was made public.

Church leaders encouraged members to attend the service as a show of faith and resilience, according to Michael Agbabiaka, the church secretary.

Two suspects have been apprehended by the Ondo State Police Command in connection with a robbery and violent attack at a burial ceremony in Okitipupa, Ondo State.

The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Olusola Ayanlade, in Akure, the state capital, made the disclosure in a statement released and made available to journalists on Sunday.

Abbas Akande Obesere, a well-known Yoruba-Future musician, was assaulted during the event, according to Ayanlade, who informed the command of credible information.

Further investigations revealed that a group of alleged hoodlums led by one Michael Abbey, known as “Emir,” allegedly attacked the musician while he was performing, he claimed.

“The suspects allegedly stole a bag filled with $4, 000, 000, a gold chain, a phone, and a wristwatch during the assault.” The victim’s manager was stabbed with a broken bottle in an attempt to intervene, which caused an injury to the hand.

READ ALSO: ‘Suspiced Herders Ambush and Kill Police Officers In Bauchi’

In connection with the incident, Michael Abbey ‘a.k.a. Emir ‘a.k.a. Oniye Oke and two other important suspects were detained, according to him.

Ayanlade stated that both men have come forward with their involvement in the criminal operation, noting that a total of $479,100 was taken from them as part of the stolen funds.

Adebowale Lawal, the Ondo State Commissioner of Police, made a statement in response to the incident that all those connected to this criminal act would be detained and subject to the full punishment of the law.