Four days after the death of two Nigerian pilgrims in two locations in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, the country, on Friday, lost three other participants in this year’s Hajj.
The deceased, who were local government chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Zamfara State, died in an accident on a road between Makkah and Madinah.
Saturday Tribune gathered that the deceased were returning to Makkah after visiting the Prophet’s Mosque and other historical sites in Madinah as an extension of the Hajj procedure.
The pilgrims, who were APC chairmen of Kauran-Namoda, Maru and Shinkafi local government areas of Zamfara State, have since been buried in Madinah after a funeral prayer in the Prophet’s Mosque.
Three other local government chairmen of the APC in Zamfara State survived the accident and were receiving medical attention in a hospital in Madinah as of the time of this report.
The National Commissioner in-charge of Medical Affairs for the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Dr Ibrahim Kana, confirmed the development.
A statement by the Public Relations Officer of the Zamfara State Pilgrims Welfare Board, Yakubu Marafa, from Makkah and made available to Saturday Tribune, gave the deceased’s names as Jafarau Gidan Sabo (Kauran-Namoda Local Government Area), Abdullahi Shugaba Ruwan Dorowa (Maru Local Government Area) and Mudi Mallamawa (Shinkafi Local Government Area).
According to the statement, the survivors are Nasiru Anka (Anka Local Government Area), Tafa Nasarawa Bukkuyum (Bukkuyum Local Government Area) and Garba Ziti Gummi of Gummi Local Government Area.
On Monday, two pilgrims from Niger and Kaduna states died in separate locations in Makkah.
Meanwhile, as the airlift of Nigerians back to the country continues, the chairman of NAHCON, Alhaji Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad, said adequate measures had been taken to ensure an early return of the pilgrims.
He said this on Thursday during his inspection of hotels where pilgrims from the South West were lodged.
Represented by the National Commissioner in charge of Personnel, Policy and Finance, Alhaji Yusuf Adebayo Ibrahim, the NAHCON chairman said no pilgrim would stay in the holy land for more than four weeks.
He, however, advised the pilgrims to comply with the order limiting pilgrims’ luggage to 32 kg with only eight kg hand luggage to avoid any delay.
The visit took the representative of the chairman and his entourage to six locations comprising Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states.
Meanwhile, Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State has described the death of the Hajj pilgrims as a loss to the government and people of the state.
In a statement, in Gusau on Friday, signed by his media aide, Ibrahim Dosara, the governor condoled with the deceased’s families and prayed for the repose of the souls of the departed and the quick recovery of the survivors of the road accident.
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