THE National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, has cleared the air over the purported ban of pilgrims airlift from the Ilorin International airport ahead of the 2017 hajj operations.
The commission said though it had no intention to ban pilgrims’ airlift from the Ilorin airport, it however, expressed concern that most of the pilgrims arrested for drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia last year came in through the Ilorin International Airport.
The Ilorin zone of the NAHCON usually comprised of intending pilgrims from Ondo, Ekiti and Kwara States who were airlifted from the Ilorin airport for the annual holy pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin at the weekend, the NAHCON’s Head of Corporate Affairs(Media Unit), Hajia Fatima Mustapha, said that the commission was not banning pilgrims airlift from the airport, but was putting a drastic measure in place to checkmate drug trafficking associated with the airport in recent times.
She expressed hope that the measure put in place would address the challenges before the commencement of pilgrims airlift from the 2017 hajj operations.
‘Most of the people arrested for drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia, we discovered, came from Kwara. We are not saying they are from Kwara but maybe there is a relationship. May be the airport is porous, may be the equipment are obsolete and cannot detect drug’’, Hajia Mustapha said.
The NAHCON’s spokesperson said the commission was collaborating with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), National Orientation Agency (NOA) and other relevant agencies to enlighten intending pilgrims on illegal practices they must shun.
‘‘Drama on the dangers and ills associated with drug trafficking will be staged during enlightenment campaigns for intending pilgrims”, she said.
Hajia Mustapha also said that the commission was also embarking on e-registration of pilgrims to beat those who might want to engage in sharp practices.
To ensure a hitch free 2017 exercise, Mustapha said the commission chairman would soon embark on pre-hajj visit to Saudi Arabia to start preparation on issues of accommodation, transportation and other challenges experienced during the last hajj exercise.
Also speaking, a former director in the old Nigerian Pilgrims Commission, Ambassador Abdulkadir Imam, who urged the commission to deploy modern equipment and Technology in the airport, said that the growing number of intending pilgrims from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia every year required that the commission deploy ‘‘modern technology and new technology that can help in strengthening you to performing better’’.