NAHCON expresses concern over drug trafficking through Ilorin airport

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has cleared the air over the purported ban on airlifting of pilgrims from Ilorin International Airport ahead of the 2017 Hajj operations.

The commission said that though it had no intention to ban pilgrims’ airlift from the Ilorin airport, it was concerned with the way most of the pilgrims arrested for drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia last year turned out to be those who came in through the Ilorin International Airport.

The Ilorin zone of the NAHCON usually comprise of intending pilgrims from Ondo, Ekiti and Kwara States who are airlifted from the Ilorin airport for the annual holy pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin last weekend,  NAHCON’s Head of Corporate Affairs, (Media Unit), Hajia Fatima Mustapha, said that the commission was not banning pilgrims’ airlift from the airport, but 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 for the 2017 hajj operations.

“We discovered that most of the people arrested for drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia came from Kwara State. We are not saying they are Kwarans but maybe there was connivance. May be the airport was porous; may be the equipments were obsolete and could not detect drug,” Hajia Mustapha said.

The NAHCON’s spokesperson said that 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 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 disclosed that 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 exercise.

Also speaking, a former director in the old Nigerian Pilgrims Commission, Ambassador Abdulkadir Imam, urged the commission to deploy modern equipment and technology in the airport.

Imam 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 perform better’’.