The report on the 2015 Hajj submitted to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Engr. Babachir David Lawal, Wednesday revealed that 43 Nigerians out of the 75,081 pilgrims who attended this year’s Hajj are still missing.
The report also said that 250 Nigerians died in the two tragic events which occurred during the 2015 Hajj in Saudi Arabia.
It said, “A total of 75,081 Nigerian Pilgrims participated in the 2015 Hajj exercise out of which 280 died in both the crane incident at the Grand Mosque in Makkah on September 11, 2015 and the stampede recorded in Mina on September 24, 2015, while the status of 43 people remain unascertained.”
The SGF, receiving the report, commended the Hajj Commission for its exemplary performance in Saudi Arabia, especially during the tragedies that occurred.
Lawal said he was particularly impressed with the conduct of the Chairman of the Hajj Commission, Alhaji Abdullahi Mohammed, in providing the government and general public, adequate and incontrovertible information throughout the crisis and assured the commission that the report will receive the prompt attention of the government.
According to a statement by the Director, Press, Office of the SGF, Bolaji Adebiyi, the Hajj Commission chairman reported that the 2015 Hajj was the most crises-ridden in the history of Hajj operations in Nigeria with pilgrims witnessing two tragic events.
Mohammed used the occasion to once again, condole with President Muhammadu Buhari, families of victims and all Nigerians on the loss of lives. He explained that the report contains observations and recommendations that will ensure more successes during future Hajj exercises, while noting that all outbound and inbound flights were concluded well ahead of schedule during the 2015 Hajj.
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