LAGOS, Nigeria 

The global anti-Daesh fight championed by Turkey, Russia and others must be supported to defeat the terrorist movement and protect global peace, Nigeria’s top Muslim body said Sunday.

“A more global effort will be more effective in putting an end to the evil group. They have existed for too long and caused so much harm and damage in many countries,” the president of the Muslim Congress Luqman Abdurraheem said at a conference titled "The Muslim World and the challenges of leadership".

"The onslaught on ISIS [Daesh] by Russia, Iraq and Turkey must continue until the evil body is defeated," he added.

The Muslim Congress is an influential body of Muslim professionals, intellectuals and businessmen.

The conference, of which a sub-theme was "People-oriented governance and collective consciousness: Lessons from Turkey", also hailed the people of Turkey for backing the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to foil the July 15 coup bid.

“The coup failed because it lacks the support of Allah and the people of Turkey. It sought to manipulate the current realities of the people of Turkey. Turkish people are content with their current leadership and that reflected in the people's reaction,” AbdulHafeez Oladosu, a professor of Arabic and Islamic studies, said in his address at the event.

The Turkish ambassador was represented at the event by Ali Kasikirik, counselor for religious affairs at the Turkish embassy in Nigeria.