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The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria has denied claims that over 600 Nigerian pilgrims remained in Saudi Arabia after performing lesser Hajj in the country.
Former Kaduna Central senator, Shehu Sani, in a tweet on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, on Saturday, made the claim, raising concerns about the Saudi authorities tightening visa rules.
“Over 600 Nigerians who travelled to Saudia for lesser Hajj refused to return and this will compel the Saudi authorities to tighten their visa rules. Many of those who want to travel will likely be tossed,” Sani wrote.
However, NAHCON’s Deputy Director of Public Affairs, Fatima Usara, denied the claims, noting that neither the Saudi or Nigerian authorities had a record of such persons.
“We do not have such correspondence or information from Saudi Arabia, neither did we receive such information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Immigration Services of both countries,” she told our correspondent.
Senator Sani’s claim comes days after President Bola Tinubu sacked the former Chairman of the Hajj commission, Jalal Arabi, over alleged mismanagement and diversion of N90bn Hajj subsidy funds provided by the government.
The PUNCH reports that 51,477 pilgrims from Nigeria attended the recently concluded Hajj exercise in Jeddah and Mina, after paying a total of N6.9m to perform the religious exercise.
While the inaugural flight for the 2024 Hajj exercise departed the Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport in Kebbi with 422 pilgrims on May 15, 2024, the final return flight landed in Ilorin Kwara State, with 286 pilgrims on July 16, 2024.
Senator Sani’s claim would imply that all 600 pilgrims have remained in Saudi Arabia for about six weeks since the end of the pilgrimage exercise.
Meanwhile, a former Grand Kadi in the the Kwara State Sharia Court of Appeal, Justice Abdullahi Haroon (retd.), has urged the Federal Government to ensure a thorough probe of the N90bn Hajj subsidy mismanagement.
The retired jurist said as a guest of the King of Saudi Arabia during the just concluded Hajj rites, some pilgrims confided in him that they were paid $200 instead of $500 as a travelling allowance.
He said, “This matter is yet to be decided, but I want it to be thoroughly investigated and whoever is found to be part of this act of dishonesty that caused suffering to our pilgrims should not be spared.
“I was in Makkah during the last pilgrimage as a guest of King Salman of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and some pilgrims confessed to me that many of them were only given $200 instead of $500 and when they got to Saudi, they were only given the equivalent of $200 in Riyal. That was how they took money from pilgrims.
“In fact, it is embarrassing that people who travelled to serve God will be the ones to violate God’s law. You must be just and transparent,” he said.
