600 Hajj Pilgrims Didn’t Abscond In S’Arabia – NAHCON

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria has denied claims that over 600 Nigerian pilgrims who went to Saudi Arabia for the lesser Hajj have refused to return.

Osun Defender reports that 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.

He wrote, “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.”

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.

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“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.”

It would be recalled that 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.