National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has began the airlift of pilgrims with the first flight by Medview Aircraft leaving Jeddah and headed to Lagos this morning, with 221 Ogun state pilgrims.
Information reaching Greenbarge Reporters indicated that the first flight, VL3205 departed Jeddah for Lagos at 10.20am.
This is even as it was confirmed that no fewer than 56 Nigerians died in the last Thursday’s stampede at Jamrat in which over 750 pillgrims died. The report said that 61 others Nigerians sustained various degree of injuries in the stampede.
Chairman of the NAHCON, Alhaji Abdullahi Muhtar who was reported to have made this known yesterday, after a meeting with Nigerian mission in Saudi Arabia said that the figure could be higher, because some Nigerians have not yet been accounted for.
Reports indicated that the states who lost pilgrims are Bauchi, Borno, Cross River, Jigawa, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Lagos and Yobe.
Among the prominent Nigerians who lost their lives in the stampede are:
1. Professor Tijjani Abubakar El-Miskin -Deputy Secretary General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA)
2. Hajiya Bilkisu Yusuf – former Editor of New Nigerian Newspaper
3. Justice Abubakar Abdulkadir Jega – Judge at the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal
4. Alhaji Abbas Ibrahim – first class Emir of Zing in Taraba State (he was also the Taraba State Amirul Hajj)
5. The two wives of the Emir
6. Hafsat Shittu – Female pharmacist
7. Shiekh Liman Dan-Ata – Chief Imam of the Sultan Abubakar III Jumaa’at Mosque
8. Bello Gidan-Hamma – immediate
Caretaker Chairman of Illela Local Government Area of Sokoto state,
9. His mother
10. His step-mother
11. His two wives. [myad]
