29th September, 2015
The Nasarawa state Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board on Tuesday confirmed that one pilgrim from the state died while two others were missing in the Saudi Arabia pilgrimage stampede.
The confirmation was contained in a statement by the board’s Public Relations Officer, Mallam Abdulrazaq Mohammed, in Lafia.
According to the statement, one of the 54 Nigerian pilgrims confirmed dead by National Hajj Commission (NAHCON) in the stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia, during this year’s Hajj, has been confirmed to be from Nasarawa state.
It added that two other pilgrims from the state who were declared missing had not been found.
The dead pilgrim, the statement said, is Mallam Ahmad Mainasara from Gadabuke community in Toto Local Government Area of the state.
It said that the deceased “and a close companion were on their way to Jamrat (stoning) when he met his untimely death which was witnessed by the close companion who narrowly escaped the stampede”.
It gave the name of the one of the missing persons as Mallama Rashida Shuaibu, adding that the name of the other, who hailed from Keffi had not been confirmed.
The board explained that its Executive Secretary, Mallam Abubakar Nalaraba, led other board members on a room-to-room search for pilgrims from state at the holy land “to take the stock of pilgrims from the state”.
It added that investigation was still on the whereabouts of the missing pilgrims.
The statement also announced the death of a pilgrim from the state, who passed on in Medina due to health challenges.
It said that the deceased, Abubakar Aliyu, from Lafia Local Government Area, took ill on arrival at the holy land and was in the custody of the state’s medical team for Hajj before he died.