Saudi Tragedy: Hajj Commission Identifies 30 Dead Nigerians

 Chairman of NAHCON, Alhaji Abdullahi Mukhtar

Iyobosa Uwugiaren and Tobi Soniyi in Abuja with agency report

Thirty Nigerian pilgrims have been identified among the 717 pilgrims killed during the stampede at Mina, Saudi Arabia on Thursday, and the figures may increase - as health workers and rescue team continue to identify the corpses, a senior official of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) said on Friday.

In a related development, President Muhammadu Buhari also yesterday said he was deeply saddened by the colossal calamity which occurred in Mina and called on King Salman of Saudi Arabia to ensure a comprehensive and thorough exercise that would identify any flaws in Hajj organisation with a view to avoiding a recurrence of such tragedies during the annual pilgrimage.

The NAHCON’s official who spoke with THISDAY from Saudi Arabia, said the Chairman of the Commission, Alhaji Abdullahi Mukhtar urged the Saudi government to involve countries, whose citizens were killed in the stampede in the investigation.

‘’For now, investigation is still ongoing; we are still trying to get the total number of Nigerian pilgrims who died and sustained different degree of injuries. But so far, we have identified 30 of the corpses. And unfortunately, the figures may increase’’, the NAHCON’s official who pleaded anonymity told THISDAY.

This revelation came as Saudi Arabia yesterday set up a committee to investigate the cause of the deadly incident, one of the worst-ever tragedies at the annual Muslim pilgrimage.

The Chairman of the Borno State Pilgrims Board, Professor Tijjani Almiskin, a prominent Nigerian female journalist, Bilkisu Yusuf, and a member of the Nigerian medical team, Dr. Hafsat Shittu were among many Nigerians killed in the stampede.

THISDAY gathered that many of the Nigerian victims were from Lagos, Kastina and Borno states.

The stampede occurred during the symbolic stoning of the devil ritual.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's health minister has said that the stampede may have been caused by pilgrims failing to follow instructions from authorities.

In a statement posted on the ministry's website Friday, the minister, Khalid al-Falih, said an investigation would be conducted urgently into the worst disaster to strike the annual Hajj pilgrimage for 25 years.

According to the minister, "The investigations into the incident of the stampede that took place today in Mina, which was perhaps because some pilgrims moved without following instructions by the relevant authorities, will be fast and will be announced as has happened in other incidents".

On his part, the Saudi King, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, said he had ordered a review of the Hajj plans after the disaster, in which two large groups of pilgrims collided with each other at a crossroad in Mina, a few kilometres east of Mecca, on their way to performing the "stoning of the devil" ritual at Jamarat.

The findings of the investigation will be submitted to King Salman, "who will take appropriate measures" in response, the Saudi Press agency said.

A Kenyan survivor who returned to the pillars on Friday told AFP news agency that his group lost three people, including one whose fate remains unknown.

"I can blame the Saudi government because they did not control the situation. I was there. I survived," Isaac Saleh said as tears welled in his eyes.

Buhari Urges Saudi Authorities to Identify Flaws in Hajj Operations…
President Buhari yesterday said he was deeply saddened by the colossal calamity which occurred in the Saudi Arabia on Thursday, claiming the lives of hundreds of pilgrims, including some Nigerians.

Buhari, in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu said he believed that the stampede at Mina in which a notable Nigerian Journalist, Hajiya Bilkisu Yusuf, Prof. Tijjani El-Miskin and others lost their lives was a monumental tragedy, not only for citizens of the countries involved, but for the global Islamic community.

The president extended sincerest condolences to the families of the over 700 pilgrims who lost their lives in this latest disaster in the Holy Places which occurred less than two weeks after a crane collapse in Mecca claimed more than a hundred lives. Six Nigerians died in that crane collapse.

Buhari commiserated with the Nigerian Guild of Editors and the Nigerian Union of Journalists on the sad loss of Hajiya Bilkisu, “an exemplary, dedicated, knowledgeable, very credible, highly-respected, outstanding editor and columnist who, even in death, would remain a glittering role model for journalists, within and outside Nigeria.”

The President said he had taken note of the assurance by the Government of Saudi Arabia that Thursday's catastrophe would be investigated.

He however called on King Salman of Saudi Arabia to ensure a comprehensive and thorough exercise that would identify any flaws in Hajj organisation with a view to avoiding a recurrence of such tragedies during the annual pilgrimage.

The president noted it was not within our powers to question the will of God, and  prayed that

Almighty Allah would comfort the families who lost their beloved ones in the stampede and receive the souls of all those who died in the Holy Land while fulfilling the religious obligation of the Hajj.

Also yesterday, the Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus expressed the sympathy and concern of the leadership of the opposition party on the unfortunate incident that claimed the lives of hundreds of Muslims attending Hajj in Mina, near Mecca.

Secondus said he and the entire members of the PDP, sympathises and condoles with the Muslim Community worldwide over the tragic stampede. In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, PDP said it had been “grief-stricken since receiving the news of the tragic incident.”

The party urged all Nigerians to remain in prayers for the repose of the souls of the departed and for speedy recovery for those wounded in the stampede.

It charged the Muslim community not to allow the incident detract them from the divine benefits of the Eid El-Kabir, and their faith in the Almighty Allah.

IPI Nigeria Chapter Mourns Bilikisu Yusuf…
The Nigerian chapter of the International Press Institute, (IPI) has expressed profound sadness over the death of Hajia Bilkisu in the stampede that occured in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

“Hajia, as we fondly called her, was not just the first female editor from Northern Nigeria; she was an active member of IPI and in fact, the first and only female  Nigerian member to ever serve on the IPI Executive Board in Vienna,” said IPI in a statement signed by Raheem Adedoyin, Secretary, IPI Nigerian National Committee.

Adedoyin added: “Hajia Bilkisu was the matriarch of the IPI Nigerian National Committee; she was integrity personified. So self-disciplined, she hardly missed any IPI event and paid her dues ( including this year's) promptly.

“We mourn the departure of this iconic journalist with common touch and send our condolences to her family, the various organisations she served devotedly and the entire Nigerian media community. May the Almighty Allah forgive Hajia Bilkisu Yusuf her earthly sins and give her family the fortitude to bear this great, irreparable loss.”