The Oyo State Pilgrims Welfare Board has said that a female pilgrim, Anifat Saheed, absconded in Jeddah during the 2019 Hajj in Saudi Arabia.
Chairman of the board’s Muslim wing, Prof. Sayed Malik, disclosed this on Thursday in Ibadan during the presentation of the 2019 Hajj report to Governor Seyi Makinde.
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Ms Saheed was one of the 914 pilgrims that took part in the 2019 Hajj from Oyo.
The pilgrim’s disappearance was noticed when the board was preparing the last batch of pilgrims for their journey to King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah on September 1.
Malik said all efforts to locate her failed.
He added that the board tried to locate the address of her guarantor in Sango, Ibadan without success.
“Up till this moment, neither her guarantor nor any of her relations has come to ask questions about her,” he said.
The board chairman further disclosed that a total of N24, 628, 900.09, was refunded to the pilgrims before their departure to Saudi Arabia due to reduction in the Hajj fare.
He called for renewal of the rent of Oyo House in Makkah with effect from January 2020.
Malik urged Makinde to study the recommendations as contained in the report and act on them so as to have hitch-free operations in subsequent pilgrimage.
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Makinde, however, commended the chairman and other board members for a successful Hajj operation in spite of the fact that the process started before his administration.
He assured the board that the recommendations would be studied and implemented for smooth Hajj operation in 2020.
