Hajj stampede: 43 Nigerians still missing

ABUJA— Weeks after the conclusion of the 2015 Hajj exercise and the attendant tragedy that occurred during a stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia, it has emerged that 43 Nigerians are still missing.

This was contained in a report submitted, yesterday, to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, David Babachir Lawal, by the committee on the 2015 Hajj exercise.
A synopsis of the report was contained in a statement issued last night in Abuja by the Director of Press in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Bolaji Adebiyi.
Chairman of the committee, Abdullahi Mohammed, described the exercise as the most eventful in the history of hajj operations in Nigeria with pilgrims witnessing two tragic events, the crane incident at the Grand Mosque in Makkah on September 11 and the stampede in Mina on September 24.
His report indicated that Nigeria recorded a total of 280 deaths from both events, while 43 are considered missing as their status is yet to be ascertained.

A total of 75,081 Nigerian pilgrims participated in the 2015 hajj exercise.
According to him, the report submitted contains observations and recommendations that will ensure seamless exercises in the future.
Receiving the report, Lawal commended the chairman and the entire board of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria for their performance in Saudi Arabia, especially, during the tragedies at the hajj.
He said he was particularly impressed with the conduct of the chairman in providing the government and indeed, the general public, adequate and incontrovertible information throughout the crisis.  He assured the commission that the report will receive the attention of the government.

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