NAHCON: OVER 17,000 NIGERIAN PILGRIMS RETURN HOME FROM SAUDI ARABIA

NAHCON: OVER 17,000 NIGERIAN PILGRIMS RETURN HOME FROM SAUDI ARABIA

The return airlift of Nigerian pilgrims from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has entered its tenth day, with operations progressing steadily in line with flight allocations secured by the approved air carriers.

According to a statement by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), a total of 17,347 pilgrims have so far been transported back to Nigeria.

The commission said states that have completed the return airlift of their pilgrims include Nasarawa, Gombe, Kogi, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Jigawa, Kwara and Plateau, while Lagos, Kebbi and the Federal Capital Territory have achieved between 65 and 80 per cent completion.

NAHCON explained that some states are yet to commence return flights due to its first-in-first-out policy, which aligns return schedules with the order in which pilgrims were initially airlifted to Saudi Arabia.