Biometric data: Kaduna State captures 2,200 intending Hajj pilgrims

The Kaduna State Muslim Welfare Board has captured no fewer than 2,200 intending pilgrims of 2019 Hajj through its Biometric data.

The Board’s Public Relations Officer, Malam Yunusa Abdullahi, made this known to newsmen in Kaduna on Saturday while giving an update on the registration of the intending pilgrims.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 2,200 pilgrims had been captured out of 6,636 hajj seats allocated to the state for this year hajj.

Abdullahi said the biometric data capture of the intending pilgrims commenced three days ago.

According to him, the biometric registration is a prerequisite for the issuance of visa to Saudi Arabia as introduced by the Saudi Government.

“Failure to participate would disqualify the intending pilgrims from performing the hajj.

“We hope by the end of next week we would have registered all the intending pilgrims,’’ he said.

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Abdullahi also said that all intending pilgrims who had made deposit payment for this year’s hajj would be captured.

He advised other intending pilgrims to approach the board before the end of the exercise.

Abdullahi noted that the introductions of biometric registration last year was to ease the processing of visa for intending pilgrims and might be for security reasons.

“All we know, the process has enhanced the processing of visa for intending pilgrims,” he said.

He said that after the exercise, there would be a second phase of the registration.

Abdullahi said that so far, the exercise was going on smoothly because adequate arrangements had been put in place.

He noted that 6,636 hajj seats had been allocated to Kaduna State by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).