Saudi Arabia deports 283 Nigerian women pilgrims, more expected

The controversy surrounding Nigerian female pilgrims to Saudi Arabia continued Thursday as  283 female pilgrims from various parts of the country were deported from from Saudi Arabia.

The deportee are part of the one thousand Nigerian female pilgrims detained by Saudi authorities for allegedly not being accompanied by a male relative (Mahram) as required by
Saudi law.

Of this figure, Sokoto State, where the spiritual leader of Nigerian Muslims is based, had 102 females deported in the early hours of Thursday.

The pilgrims were transported back to Sokoto aboard a Max Air aircraft.
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, in Abuja confirmed the repatriation of the females to the country.

The Manager of the Sultan Abubakar III International Airport, Sokoto, Abubakar Lawal, said , on Thursday in Sokoto, that the deported pilgrims have since travelled to their respective local government areas.
He said that the affected pilgrims are hale and hearty.

All efforts to get the reaction of the Chairman of the State Pilgrims’ Welfare Agency, Muntari Maigona, or its Public Relations Officer, Faruk Umar, failed.

Like Sokoto, like Taraba
In Jalingo, Taraba State capital, no fewer than 62 female pilgrims were repatriated.

The Chairman of the Taraba Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, Tukur Hamman-Adama, explained that the women were transported from the King Abdulazeez International Airport, Jeddah, to Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano.

He said that the women were actually accompanied but that the checking system at the Jeddah Airport was such that men were checked, cleared and asked to proceed.

“When it was the turn of the women to be checked and cleared, the Security claimed they were not accompanied by their guardians (Mahram) and were unwilling to listen to any explanation and went ahead to detain them,” he said.
Mr. Hamman-Adama wondered why the Saudi Authorities became rigid this year.

The chairman said that arrangements were being made to convey those affected back to Jalingo, pending the outcome of the current negotiations between the Nigerian Government and its Saudi Arabian counterpart.

“We have never allowed a female pilgrim from Taraba to travel un- accompanied,” Mr. Hamman-Adama said.
Kebbi too In Birnin Kebbi, eight female pilgrims were among those brought back from Jeddah to Nigeria.

A reliable source at the Pilgrims Hajj camp said in Birnin Kebbi on Thursday that the affected pilgrims hailed from Kalgo, Yauri and Shanga local government areas.

The source stated that the affected Pilgrims were transported to Saudi Arabia in the fourth flight.

The state’s Amirul Hajj, Garba Dandiga, said there has been no official figure of the pilgrims who were detained in Saudi Arabia.

He said a meeting of the officials of the board and members of the state delegation would be held to determine the next line of action.

Meanwhile, families of another batch of 111 female pilgrims brought back from Saudi Arabia were stranded at the Musa Yar’Adua International Airport in Katsina.

Saudi holds on to Zamfara women
The hope of 182 female  pilgrims from Zamfara to perform this year’s Hajj is still uncertain, following their continued detention by immigration officials of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Public Relations officer of the state agency, Yakubu Mafara, said in an interview in Gusau on Thursday, that the affected pilgrims were transported from Sokoto to Saudi Arabia in batches four and five.

He said reports from Saudi Arabia have confirmed that the detained pilgrims are in good health and being given attention by the officials of the NAHCON and the Zamfara Welfare agency.

He said since the announcement of the 48 hours suspension of further transportation of pilgrims, activities at Zamfara Hajj camp and the agencies headquarters had slowed down.

Mr. Mafara said that none of the detained pilgrims from the state has been brought back as at Thursday from Saudi Arabia.

Delta Pilgrims still at home
But in Asaba, Delta State, the State Government says it is yet to airlift its Muslim pilgrims to the Holy Land for the Hajj rites.

State Commissioner for Bureau for Special Duties, Tony Nwaka, said this in an interview in Asaba on Thursday.

Mr. Nwaka said that the delay in transporting pilgrims from the state is not peculiar to the state alone but to other states in the zone,  as states in the zone had not been called up to be transported.