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Tag: Hajj

  • Nigeria’s Hajj death toll hits 199

    Nigeria’s Hajj death toll hits 199

    The death toll of Nigerians in the Jamarat stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia, has risen to 199, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) said last night.

    Commissioner Planning, Research and Library Service of the commission, Dr. Saleh Okenwa, who spoke in Makkah put the number of the injured at 36. He said 121 are still missing.

    According to him, Sokoto State with 79 dead and 59 missing tops the Nigerian victims’ list followed by Kano State which lost 20 pilgrims.

    The commissioner said only five Nigerians are still on admission at the hospitals in Saudi Arabia.

    He listed other affected states as:  Adamawa, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara and the FCT. They either lost pilgrims or have their pilgrims declared missing.

    The death toll has been risen as soon as more bodies are discovered. The figure is expected to rise further when those declared missing have been identified from among the bodies.

    “The number of the dead from the state contingents is160 made up of 70 male, 84 female, four male officials and two female officials. The injured are 33 (18 male and 15 female) 110 are still missing (61 male, 48 female) and one male official.

    “The tour operators recorded 39 deaths (25 male and 14 female), two were injured and among the five on admission, while 11 (eight male and three female) are still missing,” he said.

  • Hajj stampede: Nigeria’s death toll hits 145

    Hajj stampede: Nigeria’s death toll hits 145

    The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) yesterday said the death toll of Nigerians in the stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia has increased to 145.

    It added that 345 Nigerians were affected in the September 24 stampede with the injured standing at 35.

    One hundred and sixty-five pilgrims were still missing, the commission said.

    The commission’s Commissioner for Planning, Research, Statistic Information and Library Service (PRSILS), Dr. Saleh Okenwa, told reporters in Makkah that seven Nigerians were responding to treatments in hospital.

    He spoke at a joint news conference of the commission’s top management with the Chargé d’Affaires, Nigerian Embassy in Riyadh, Ambassador Tijjani Hammanjoda and the Nigerian Consul-General to Saudi Arabia, Ambassador Ahmed Umar, on the 2015 Hajj exercise and update on the stampede.

    The commission’s Commissioner of Operations, Alhaji Ibrahim Modibbo Saleh, said 29 of the 145 that died were from the tour operators. Nineteen were males and 10 were females.

    Saleh said one person was injured and 21 of those missing were also from the tour operators.

    “Those declared missing cannot be declared dead, since their corpses have not been identified and there are ongoing efforts to located them or identify their remains among the dead,” he said.

    Chairman of Medical Committee Dr. Ibrahim Kana said autopsies were being carried out on some of the corpses to ascertain the cause of their deaths and that some of the families of those that died have received the death certificates of their loved ones.

    He added that while the DNA matchings have been done for some of the immediate families of the victims in the holy land for identification, efforts were on to ensure that others in Nigeria can travel to Saudi Arabia or submit their blood sample for matching.

  • Nigeria’s Hajj death toll hits 99

    Nigeria’s Hajj death toll hits 99

    Nigeria’s death toll in the September 24 Hajj stampede has risen to 99, the national Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) said yesterday.

    Forty-two were injured and 214 are missing.

    The Commissioner for Planning, Research Statistic Information and Library Service (PRSILS) at the commission,  Dr. Saleh Okenwa, at a briefing  in Makkah, said 355 victims from Nigeria were involved in the stampede.

    Okenwa said: “We recorded 73 deaths from the state pilgrim welfare boards, agencies and commissions, while the remaining 26 were from the tour operators.

    “Those injured were 42, including  41 from the state pilgrims and one from tour operators. The numbers of missing pilgrims from the states were 96 males, 94 females and four males who were officials, totaling 194, while 10 males and 10 females were missing from the tour operators.

    “ Of those injured, only seven remain in the hospitals on admission and receiving treatment and others have been discharged.”

    Responding to a question on the missing, he said: “In the early days people expressed hope but the hope is waning. We cannot declare those missing as dead since there is no evidence to state that.

    “The identification of those affected is still being collated by the Saudi Arabia health authorities in conjunction with Nigerian and other health officials.”

    A top official of NAHCON, who spoke in confidence, said: “We have little hope left on the 214 missing pilgrims because the 2015 Hajj rites are over. Their likely survival is dim.

    “What we are waiting for is the ongoing forensic analysis of finger prints to identify these 214 pilgrims and establish contact with their relations.

    “We want to ensure that we go through due process before we reach any conclusion on the fate of the missing 214 pilgrims.”

    The states with records of missing pilgrims are: Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Ekiti, FCT, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina , Kebbi, Lagos and Kwara.

    Others are Nasarawa, Niger, Ondo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.

  • Buhari’s wife condoles with Sokoto over Hajj deaths

    Buhari’s wife condoles with Sokoto over Hajj deaths

    Wife of the President, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, and Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha have condoled with the people and government of Sokoto State over the Hajj stampede

    A statement issued by Governor Aminu Tambuwal’s spokesman Imam Imam said the two personalities expressed sadness over the unfortunate incident.

    The statement said while the President’s wife sent a letter and delegation to commiserate with the Sokoto State government, Okorocha led a delegation of Imo state officials to meet with Tambuwal.

    Both leaders urged the people of Sokoto to take heart and be consoled by the fact that the pilgrims met their deaths while engaging in acts of worship. They prayed God to accept the dead, heal the injured and for Him to give their immediate families the fortitude to bear the loss.

    Tambuwal thanked the two leaders for their prayers and prayed God to reward them abundantly.

    While in Sokoto, Okorocha inspected the site for the proposed Rochas Okorocha Foundation.

  • ‘No Cross River pilgrim killed in Hajj stampede’

    The Cross River State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board has said no pilgrim from the state was among the dead in this year’s Hajj stampede in Saudi Arabia.

    Head of Islamic Affairs in the State Department of Religious Matters and Coordinator of the 2015 Hajj operations, Mallam Bello Audu, told reporters in Calabar, the state capital, that he had been in touch with the 37 pilgrims from the state, adding they were “hale and hearty”.

    Audu said: “We give glory to Almighty Allah that no pilgrim from the state was missing when a head count was done for the 37 pilgrims from the state in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. We also thank Governor Ben Ayade, who has promised to always listen to Muslims in Cross River State and give them their rights.

    “That nothing happened to the pilgrims from Cross River State shows that the governor’s prayers have been answered as a good believer and a man of God.

    “We regret the loss of lives at Jamarat. As Muslims, we condole with the affected persons and their families in Nigeria and in other countries with prayers that Almighty Allah will grant the dead Aljanna Firdaus (Paradise) as well as grant the victims’ families the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.”

  • Okunnu, cleric disagree with Sanusi on hajj rite

    Okunnu, cleric disagree with Sanusi on hajj rite

    Two renowned Islamic leaders, Alhaji Lateef Okunnu and Sheikh Dhikrullahi Shafi’i have disagreed with Emir of Kano and Nigeria‘s Amirul Hajj Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II on skipping the devil stoning aspect of pilgrimage.

    Sanusi had advocated skipping the exercise because of overcrowding, which led to the stampede in which some pilgrims died on September 24.

    No fewer than 70 Nigerians are believed to have died in the stampede.

    Alhaji Sanusi told Sokoto pilgrims in the Holy Land that stoning of the devil was not worth the blood of any Muslim.

    He quoted the Qur’an and the sayings of Prophet Muhammad that refusal to even perform the stoning of devil rituals does not in any way invalidate one’s Hajj.

    His words: “During the era of Prophet Muhammad, he permitted pilgrims who came on camels to stay in Mecca after Arafat, instead of staying in Mina and sleeping at Muzdalifa.

    “So, if the Prophet could give such grace to some people, just to protect their animals, why didn’t our scholars educate our people properly to avoid this untoward hardship and death.

    “Therefore, it will be part of my recommendations to the Federal Government that, if we cannot get accommodation close to Jamrat where the Arabs reside in Mina, then this year may be the last time we will sleep in Mina and Muzdalifa because we want to stone the devil.

    “Besides that, if one deliberately refuses to even perform the stoning of the devil rituals, all he needs to do is to slaughter a ram. So, if this is the situation, why do we go and suffer and die instead of sacrificing a ram?”

    Yesterday, Okunnu, who was Nigeria‘s Amirul Hajj in 1973 said what the Emir Sanusi said was his personal opinion which is not binding on pilgrims.

    “The job of Nigeria’s Amirul Hajj is to recommend to the Federal Government and the stakeholders of which Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) is playing a leading role, would examine. We’ll discuss that recommendation when we get to NSCIA meeting. The emir’s suggestion is open-ended,” he said.

    Okunnu, Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria president urged Saudi Arabia to probe the incident to arrest a recurrence, saying: “We know Allah gives life and causes death to whomever and wherever He pleases. The people that died at Jamrat were not exempted. He gave them lives and He has taken them. We can only pray that this be the last of such incident. May we never have this kind of experience again.”

    Also yesterday, Sheikh Shafi’i, Mufti, Conference of Islamic Organisations (CIO), who hailed Emir Sanusi for delving into scholars’ area of expertise, noted that many monarchs have little knowledge about their religion.

    The renowned scholar said the issue of abstaining from devil stoning is not as straight forward as Sanusi observed.

    “That angle (Jamrat) is a whole topic under Islamic Jurisprudent (Fiqh); many internationally recognised scholars would have to issue a Fatwa (verdict) before any nation can say her pilgrims should abstain from Jamrat exercise,” he said.

    Besides, he said, moving African pilgrims tent in Mina closer to Jamrat is not a requisite to avoid stampede.

    “What about the other nations that had their tents closer to Jamrat and still lost some of their pilgrims? What should be done is proper investigation of how it happened and ensure a reoccurrence is avoided,” he said.

    According to him, the hadith (Prophetic sayings) quoted by Sanusi was misconstrued, adding that the Prophet never exempted anybody from stoning rather he (Prophet Muhammad) only permitted them to return to Mecca and come from there for the stoning.

  • Hajj stampede: Saudi promises stronger ties with Nigeria

    The Saudi Arabian authorities have commiserated with Nigeria on the death of scores of its pilgrims in the hajj stampede.

    The Saudi government also assured Nigerians that the kingdom would strengthen their cultural and diplomatic relationship.

    The Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Makkah Region, Ambassador Mohammed Ahmed Al-Tayeb, gave the assurance on Sunday in Jeddah when he hosted the Nigerian delegation under the aegis of the Central Coordinating Team (CCT), led by Emir of Kano Muhammad Sanusi II.

    He said: “Those that died are martyrs and may Allah accept their hajj and other ibadah (acts of worship) and may Allah grant the injured speedy recovery. The relationship between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia dated to hundreds of years. I have Nigerian friends and there were Nigerians who were my teachers in primary school in Makkah. We (Nigeria and Saudi Arabia) have been one family, one nation, we share one faith, we have one God, one Prophet and one Ka’aba,” Al-Tayeb said.

    He also said the Saudi authority cannot continue to announce the casualty figures until the investigative committee set up by the Saudi ruler, King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz submitted its report.

    He, however, warned against politicising the incident and commend all countries whose pilgrims were affected for their patience and cooperation.

    Emir Sanusi commended the kingdom for sustaining the relationship with Nigeria and the efforts rendered on the Jamarat incident and on the other efforts to ease hajj rites performance by pilgrims.

    He urged the ambassador to intervene in ensuring that Nigerians got better tents that would be closer to Jamarat in Mina to ease the hardship being encountered by Nigerian pilgrims.

    He also said the efforts of the Nigerian Hajj mission to ensure the welfare of Nigerians for the hajj exercise was hampered by the location of Nigerian tents in Mina.

  • Hajj: Nigerians won’t stone devil again -Sanusi

    Hajj: Nigerians won’t stone devil again -Sanusi

    Nigeria‘s Amirul Hajj to the just concluded pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II, remains unhappy about the loss of many lives during the stoning of the devil rites during the hajj.

    He is already contemplating recommending to the federal government that Nigerians should in future skip that particular rite except they are accommodated close to Jamrat where the stoning takes place.

    No fewer than 70 Nigerians are believed to have lost their lives in the stampede during the rite while latest figures say over 1000 pilgrims died.

    Alhaji Sanusi who is also the Emir of Kano told Sokoto pilgrims in the Holy Land that  stoning of the devil is not worth the blood of any Muslim.

    The Emir who quoted several verses of the Qur’an and the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said refusal to even perform the stoning of devil rituals does not in any way invalidate one’s Hajj.

    His words: “During the era of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), he permitted pilgrims who came on camels to stay in Makkah after Arafat, instead of staying in Mina and sleeping at Muzdalifa.

    “So, if the Prophet could give such grace to some people, just to protect their animals, why didn’t our scholars educate our people properly to avoid this untoward hardship and death.

    “Therefore, it will be part of my recommendations to the federal government that, if we cannot get accommodation close to Jamrat where the Arabs reside in Mina, then this year may be the last time we will sleep in Mina and Muzdalifa because we want to stone the devil.

    “Besides that, if one deliberately refuses to even perform the stoning of the devil rituals, all he needs to do is to slaughter a ram. So, if this is the situation, why do we go and suffer and die instead of sacrificing a ram?

    “As is it presently, sleeping in Mina and Muzdalifa is not backed by any Hadith or verse of the Qur’an. So, why do we continue to do it?”

    The Emir said, he would, as the leader of the Nigerian delegation, recommend that Nigerians no longer participate in the devil stoning rite, except they are accommodated close to ‘Jamrat’.

    He insisted that blacks, particularly Nigerians, were not responsible for the Mina stampede. Nigeria, according to him, has no issue with the Saudi authorities, but stressed that the Riyahd authorities must understand that no human being is superior to another before Allah, except he who fears Allah most.

    The Emir, however, challenged Islamic scholars to educate Muslims on how to perform a hitch-free hajj, without losing anybody’s blood.

     

  • ‘Probe death of Hajj pilgrims’

    ‘Probe death of Hajj pilgrims’

    The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), have expressed shock over the reported death of hundreds and injured pilgrims recorded during a stampede that occurred at the annual ritual ‘Stoning of the Devil’ during the hajj, outside the holy Muslim city of Mecca.

    In a statement by  TUC President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, the congress said it was painful that while “we were yet grappling with the over a hundred people killed in Mecca when a construction crane fell on the crowded Grand Mosque, another one happened.”

    According to the congress, ‘’record has it that the last time a tragedy of this magnitude befell pilgrims was in July 1990, when 1,426 pilgrims perished in an overcrowded pedestrian tunnel leading to holy sites near Mecca. It was the ninth in a string of such incidents since then; and we had thought that by now the Saudi government should have addressed the cause of such aviodable deaths. It just does not make any sense for people to die in places of worship, especially at an occasion as important as Islam’s most important feast and day of the stoning ritual.

    “Apart from the 1,426 pilgrim that died in 1990, 350 pilgrims also died in 2006 which eventually prompted Saudi Arabia to employ some remedial measures. We do not expect this kind of colossal loss at this time and age, again. It’s just too grave to bear,” added the TUC.

    The labour body said  the Saudi Arabia government must accept responsibility for this catastrophic loss, and as a matter of urgency order an investigation and a review of the kingdom’s plans for annual Hajj pilgrimage.

    The NLC  also expressed shock  on  the extent of the losses.

    In a statement signed by its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, he said: “We call for a thorough investigation of the two major incidents that led to these deaths.

    “In order for transparency and re-assurance, we urge that countries whose citizens perished in the two incidents be made members of the body of inquiry.

    “But most importantly, perhaps, time has come for the Saudi authorities to review their crowd control management techniques and administration of hajj, generally”.

  • Hajj: Nigeria loses another 19 to hypertension, diabetes – Centre

    The Head of Data Unit of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria’s Medical Centre in Mecca, Dr. Jibrin Suleman has said 19 Nigerian pilgrims died of heart diseases, hypertension, diabetes and other related ailments during the just-concluded Hajj.
    The death was separate from the casualty figure recorded by the nation during last Thursday Hajj stampede in Jamarat in Mina.
    He said more than 10,000 pilgrims were treated in NAHCON’s five clinics in Madinah and Mecca for cold, malaria, body pain and other simple and non-complicated cases.
    Suleman gave the statistics while briefing the Leader of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Hajj, Sen. Ali Wakili when he visited the centre in Mecca.
    Suleman said the 19 deaths involved pilgrims between 65 years and above.
    On his part, the Head, Medical Team of the centre, Dr. Muhammad Bello Abdulkadir, said the clinics were stocked with necessary drugs.
    “We brought some of the drugs from Nigeria, while others were procured in Saudi Arabia,’’ he added.
    He also said NAHCON recruited 232 medical staff, including doctors, nurses, and others to man the clinics.
    He, however, complained that the centre had no ambulance to move to the pilgrims’ hostels during emergencies.
    Wakili said members of the ad hoc committee were going round NAHCON facilities in Saudi Arabia to evaluate the situation and find out challenges confronting the agency.