Hajj 2024: Another Kebbi pilgrim dies in Makkah

Another pilgrim from Kebbi State, Abubakar Abdullahi, has passed away in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

Ahmad Idris, the chief press secretary to Kebbi State governor, Nasir Idris, announced Abdullahi’s death in a statement on Monday.

According to Idris, the deceased is from Gulma town in Argungu LGA of Kebbi state.

“The governor urged the immediate family of the deceased, friends and Kebbi pilgrims to take heart and accept the will of God in good faith,” Idris said.

“The deceased had since been buried according to Islamic rites after a funeral prayer at Masjid Al-Ihram (Ka’aba), on Friday.”

In May, two pilgrims who are from Kebbi State, Tawakaltu Alamo and Muhammad Suleman also passed away.

Meanwhile, the final batch of state quota pilgrims have departed Nigeria for Saudi Arabia.

READ ALSO: 1.2 million pilgrims arrive Saudi Arabia for 2024 Hajj

In a statement on Monday, the spokesperson for NAHCON, Fatima Usara, said the airlift combined 211 pilgrims from Abuja, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Bauchi, and Niger states with the last batch of officials for the Hajj operations.

Usara said that the Flynas aircraft departed Nigeria via the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja in the early hours of Monday.

“This flight marks the end of this year’s outbound airlift to Makkah for state quota pilgrims,” she said.

Usara stated that the final airlift of private tour operators’ pilgrims by Aero Contractors is scheduled for 2:00 PM on Monday.

She added that other private tour operators are expected to complete their airlifts before the closure of Jeddah and Madinah airports for inbound Hajj flights.

“The return journey for the 2024 hajj is slated to commence on the 22nd of June 2024 on a first-in, first-out basis. The slots for the return journey have been secured by all airlines,” she said.

The spokesperson said the commission’s chairman, Jalal Arabi, listed the successful airlifting of all pilgrims before Saudi Arabia’s deadline and the 100% movement of pilgrims to Madinah pre-Arafat as an achievement.