The Nigerian Hajj Commission has said that a pilgrim, Aminu Rufa’i, has died in Saudi Arabia.
Spokesperson of the commission, Fatima Usara, said in a statement on Monday that the nurse was from Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
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Ms Usara said the pilgrim died in his sleep.
“On a sad note, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria mourns the passing away of one of its National Medical Team members, Nurse Aminu Rufa’i from Zaria Local Government of Kaduna State who died in his sleep. Nurse Aminu was apparently healthy at the time he went to bed.
“His remains have since been buried according to Islamic rites. The Chairman, on behalf of the management and staff of NAHCON, prays Almighty Allah gives his family the fortitude to bear the loss,” she said.
The spokesperson also said over 9,000 pilgrims have returned to Nigeria from Saudi Arabia after this year’s hajj exercise.
“Airlift of Nigerian pilgrims back into the country is in its ninth day having begun as scheduled, on the 17th of August, 2019,” the statement said.
“The two participating airlines, namely Max Air and FlyNas have operated a total of 21 flights that conveyed 9, 658 pilgrims back to Nigeria.
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“Distribution of the flights so far shows Max Air has conveyed 5,428 pilgrims in 11 trips while FlyNas on its part transported 4,306 pilgrims in 10 flights.
“Meanwhile, FlyNas has conducted flights to Lagos, Kebbi, Zamfara Sokoto and Osun. It also conveyed some pilgrims from Oyo, Ogun, Cross River, Delta, Abia and Edo states back to Nigeria.”
