NAHCON seeks partnership with NAPTIP, others to stop abscondment by pilgrims

The chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Alhaji Abdullah Mukhtar, has sought collaboration with the office of the National Security Adviser, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and other anti-human trafficking bodies towards stopping the act of running away by pilgrims.

Mukhtar, who made the call in Abuja during a courtesy visit to NAPTIP office, made a reference to pilgrims in Saudi Arabia who had either overstayed or absconded.

Although he noted that there was a reduction in the number of pilgrims who abscond owing to the introduction of biometric data capturing for those embarking on hajj and umrah, he said more still needed to be done to checkmate the menace.

Aside from biometric capturing, Mukhtar said NAHCON had mandated intending pilgrims to have a guarantor who would be responsible for their action and inaction.

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“The rich, the poor, the disabled all partake in pilgrimage and other religious journeys hence the government’s image is always at stake. Therefore, stakeholders like the embassy, the airlines and law enforcement agencies should be involved in fight against human trafficking and cases of those who abscond in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

He solicited for support for partnership and assistance from NAPTIP and private tour operators to stop the menace.

Speaking, the Director-General of NAPTIP, Dame Julie Okah-Donli, expressed the readiness of the organisation to collaborate with NAHCON and other relevant agencies to curb the menace of human trafficking within the provision of the law.