The 140 people who were successfully picked by the Lagos State Government for 2010 holy pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia for this year’s Lesser Hajj have been airlifted from Nigeria to the Holy Land.

They left at the weekend in two batches through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, the state capital.

According to the Public Relations officer of the State Muslim Pilgrims’ Welfare Board, Babatunde Adele, the pilgrims left in a chattered flight that would take them directly to Medinah, where they would spend two days before moving to Mecca to perform the rites of the hajj.

P.M. NEWS learnt that some top officials of the state government were part of the pilgrims.

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The Commissioner for Home Affairs and Culture, Alhaji Ibrahim Balogun, while advising the pilgrims, tasked them to pray for the peace and stability in the country while enjoining them to engage in deeds capable of earning them the mercies of God.

The pilgrims are expected back in the state between 9 and 10 September, 2010.