280 Nigerians Died, 43 Still Missing In 2015 Hajj

National Hajj Commission of Nigeria’s (NHCN) Chairman Abdullahi Mohammed said yesterday that 280 Nigerians died from the crane incident at the Grand Mosque in Makkah on September 11 and the stampede in Mina on September 24.

Forty three other Nigerians, he added, are still missing.

Mohammed spoke  while submitting the report on the 2015 Hajj to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, in Abuja.

According to a statement by Bolaji Adebiyi,  the Director (Press) in the Office of the SGF, Mohammed described this year was the most eventful in the history of Hajj Operations because of the two tragic events.

He condoled with President Muhammadu Buhari, families of victims and Nigerians on the loss of lives.

The NHCN boss assured that the report submitted contained observations and recommendations that would ensure more successes during future Hajj operations.

While 75,081 Nigerian Pilgrims participated in the exercise, the statement said both the outbound and inbound flights were concluded well ahead of schedule.

Receiving the report, the SGF lauded the commission’s chairman and its board for their exemplary performance in Saudi Arabia, especially during the tragedies that occurred.

He said he was impressed with the conduct of the chairman in providing the government and the public adequate and incontrovertible information throughout the crisis.

He assured the commission that the report submitted would receive the prompt attention of the Federal Government.