Buhari orders Hajj commission to account for all Nigerian pilgrims

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday issued a directive to the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) to immediately account for all Nigerians that participated in the 2015 pilgrimage exercise in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, disclosed that the president’s order was issued following ambiguities over the exact number of Nigerians affected by the stampede last week.

A number of Nigerians, including prominent citizens like justices of the Court of Appeal, Emirs, lecturers and journalists have been confirmed dead in the crush.

Many others have not been accounted for even though some reports suggest at least 54 Nigerian pilgrims may have lost their lives in the incident.

Shehu said, “President Buhari is very concerned that days after the unfortunate incident, some Nigerian families are still grappling with painful uncertainty over the fate of their relatives who traveled to Saudi Arabia for this year’s Hajj.”