IHR
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), has said that it will set up a committee to investigate the reported abandonment of some intending pilgrims at Aminu Kano International Airport.
Media reports Thursday said about 400 intending pilgrims were stranded at Kano Airport after the agents responsible for their movement to Saudi Arabia failed to do so.
The commissioner in charge of operations at NAHCON Alhaji Abdullahi Modibbo Saleh in a brief char with Journalists Friday in Mina, Saudi Arabia said the commission received report of the incident late on Thursday, with only few hours left for Nigerian pilgrims to start moving from Makkah to Mina tent city for Hajj proper.
He said the pilgrims involved were not state or federal government registered pilgrims, but those of Private tour operators.
“ A committee will be set up to investigate this matter and anyone found involved will be dealt with according to the law…”
On insinuations that the pilgrims were abandoned by Nigerian authorities, Mr Saleh said “ there are two categories of Pilgrims; there are states pilgrims board pilgrims and private tour operators pilgrims. We have 44, 450 registered pilgrims from the states and they have all been airlifted to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”.
The Commissioner of operations said Private tour operators carry out their own arrangements for the airlift of their pilgrims for any Hajj exercise.
Asks on what will happened to the stranded pilgrims the Commsioner said That “NAHCON has commence investigation. to ascertain what went wrong with a view to avoid future occurrences”
