The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria has announced that 32,836 Nigerian pilgrims who took part in the 2024 Hajj have been airlifted back from Saudi Arabia.
This information was disclosed in a statement on Monday by the commission’s spokesperson, Fatima Usara, noting that the pilgrims came from 13 states and included members of the military.
Usara explained that a total of 65,000 Nigerians participated in this year’s Hajj, with 13 fatalities reported during the pilgrimage.
She stated that the number of those airlifted so far represents 64 percent of the Nigerian pilgrims.
“This represents 64 percent of pilgrims that have been airlifted back to the country after 16 days, compared to arrival into the Kingdom in the first phase at 60.2 percent when 30,599 pilgrims were transported by this time,” she said. “This shows positive progress with 77 flights compared to 73 flights recorded during the first leg.”
Usara listed the states that have completed their airlift to include Bauchi, Kaduna, Osun, Lagos, Borno, Ogun, Benue, Armed Forces, Kogi, Nasarawa, Edo, Yobe, Plateau, and Oyo.
Kano and Ondo are scheduled to finish their airlift by Tuesday, while the FCT, Abuja, is set to convey its last set of pilgrims today, July 8. Ekiti is expected to complete its airlift by July 10.
“States that commenced airlift today being among the last batch to arrive the Kingdom are Adamawa, Gombe, while Jigawa, Katsina, and Taraba are about to start movement back to their destinations within the week,” Usara added.
Usara assured that NAHCON aims to complete the airlift of Nigerian pilgrims by the end of the week, marking the final stage of a seamless and successful Hajj.
