No fewer than 8,667 Nigerian pilgrims have been successfully airlifted back to Nigeria by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, since the second phase of the operations began on July 4, barely three days after the completion of Hajj 2023.
Muslim News gathered that the inbound flights commenced with the airlifting of 426 Sokoto State pilgrims onboard FlyNas Airlines flight XY7402 on Tuesday, July 4 and has so far airlifted a total of 8,667 pilgrims with 22 flights.
On Sunday, July 9, FlyNas flight XY7818 departed King AbdulAzeez International Airport, Jeddah to Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Lagos at 11:06hrs with 372 Osun pilgrims and 7 officials.
Our correspondent in Makkah reliably gathered that the figures didn’t include the pilgrims of private operators, some of whom have been airlifted back to Nigeria through scheduled flights, while others have chartered flights arrangements with the Hajj commission.
As the airlifting exercise continues, the Commission has confirmed that the number of Nigerian pilgrims who lost their lives at the Hajj 2023 has reached 20.
The Commissioner in charge of Planning, Research, Statistics, Information and Library Services, Sheikh Sulaiman Momoh, disclosed at a press briefing on Saturday in Makkah that the death toll has risen from 14 to 20.
Recall that the Amir-ul-Hajj of Lagos, Prince Anofiu Olanrewaju Elegushi on Wednesday, July 5 announced the death of Alhaja Kuburat Adunni Shekoni, a 66-year-old female pilgrim from Oshodi-Isolo Local Government, taking the figure to 14, before the current figure released by the Commission.
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