With the on-going diplomatic row between Nigeria and the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia over the detention of almost 1,000 female pilgrims and
deportation of 171 females for coming to Hajj without male companions,
the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has temporarily
suspended all Hajj flights for the next 48 hours.
This was announced in a statement on Thursday, signed by Abdullahi
Mukhtar Muhammad, despite the optimism expressed by the Saudi Arabian
ambassador to Nigeria.
The ambassador, Mr. Khaled Abdrabuh, had earlier stated that the
controversy over the detention of 908 female Nigerian pilgrims in Saudi
Arabia and the deportation of some will be resolved later today.
According to the statement, the Hajj Commission claimed it has been
“compelled to temporarily suspend all Hajj flights for the next 48
hours”, “following the unprecedented and worrisome development of
detaining over 1000 female pilgrims from Nigeria at the King Abdulazeez
International Airport Jeddah and Prince Muhammad Ibn azeez
International Airport Madinah.”
The Commission claimed it is taking this step after wide consultation with all stakeholders.
“This is to enable the Commission appraise the situation critically
with the view to surmount all the challenges being faced” the statement
added.
The Hajj Commission urged “all intending pilgrims to remain calm as all
hands are on deck to resolve the issue and hajj flights will resume
once resolved.”
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