A thorough examination into the inconsistencies that marred this year’s Nigerian Hajj pilgrims’ journeys to Saudi Arabia has been mandated by the House of Representatives.
On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a motion titled “Need to Investigate the Untold Hardship Faced by Nigerian Pilgrims at the Recently Concluded 2023 Hajj,” sponsored by Honourable Ahmed Idris.
Recall that 14 pilgrims had reportedly passed away at this year’s Hajj.
Dr. Usman Galadima, the leader of the Nigerian medical team for the trip, provided the breakdown on Sunday in Makkah during the post-Arafat review conference. He stated that seven pilgrims passed away during the pre-Arafat period.
He revealed that Plateau State had one casualty, Kaduna had two, Osun had two, Borno had one, Yobe had one, the Federal Capital Territory had one, Benue had one, and Lagos had one.
The House said that 95,000 Nigerians travelled to Mecca this year for the Hajj.
Idris informed the House that a number of public personnel were forced to sleep in unsanitary locations and conditions without a tent.
He claimed that the organisation in charge of looking after the needs of the pilgrims was not doing enough to improve the situation of Nigerian Hajj pilgrims.
“We are aware that Nigerian pilgrims were subjected to untold hardships during the Hajj exercise from the inability of some airlines (such as Arik) to lift pilgrims due to lack of aircraft; lack of adequate tent accommodation at Mina and Arafat; substandard tents with unhealthy living conditions and environment; lack of proper medical attention to pilgrims in cases of emergency; lack of proper transportation logistics for Nigerian pilgrims; Nigerians being made to miss their flights due to stringent bottlenecks regarding withholding of their passports; and inability to secure airport slots for Nigerian airline operators for lifting of Nigerian pilgrims from Saudi Arabia back to the country and many others.
“VIP pilgrims were made to pay about $5,000 for VIP tents and despite this exorbitant amount, pilgrims were stranded while others got tents of lesser value than what they paid for.
“Some tour operators perpetrated the worst form of unprofessionalism by failing to provide services promised to pilgrims in terms of accommodation, tent, feeding or transportation.
“It is disturbing that there was the absence of emergency medical services for sick pilgrims in distress at Mina camp as many distressed patients could not be attended to due to restrictions of ambulance access to the camp,” he said.
The Committee on Pilgrims Affairs was ordered by the House to conduct the investigation and provide a report within four weeks in order for further legislative action after the motion was approved.
Additionally, it instructed the Committee on Legislative Compliance to oversee implementation once it was established.
