tragedy that occurred during a stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia, it has
emerged that 43 Nigerians are still missing.
This was contained in a report submitted, yesterday, to the Secretary
to the Government of the Federation, David Babachir Lawal, by the
committee on the 2015 Hajj exercise.
A synopsis of the report was contained in a statement issued last
night in Abuja by the Director of Press in the Office of the Secretary
to the Government of the Federation, Bolaji Adebiyi.
Chairman of the committee, Abdullahi Mohammed, described the exercise
as the most eventful in the history of hajj operations in Nigeria with
pilgrims witnessing two tragic events, the crane incident at the Grand
Mosque in Makkah on September 11 and the stampede in Mina on September
24.
His report indicated that Nigeria recorded a total of 280 deaths from
both events, while 43 are considered missing as their status is yet to
be ascertained.
A total of 75,081 Nigerian pilgrims participated in the 2015 hajj exercise.
According to him, the report submitted contains observations and
recommendations that will ensure seamless exercises in the future.
Receiving the report, Lawal commended the chairman and the entire
board of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria for their performance
in Saudi Arabia, especially, during the tragedies at the hajj.
He said he was particularly impressed with the conduct of the chairman
in providing the government and indeed, the general public, adequate
and incontrovertible information throughout the crisis. He assured
the commission that the report will receive the attention of the
government.
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