Seven prospective pilgrims from Kano State were turned away after they were given bogus visas and left for Jidda, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday.
InsightnaijaTV reports that two of the deported pilgrims were from the Kano State Pilgrims Welfare Board, while the other five had traveled to Saudi Arabia for the hajj through tour companies.
Dahiru Yau Musa, a deported pilgrim, claimed that until they arrived at King Abdulazeez Airport, they were unaware that their visas had been granted in error.
“We were in the queue with other pilgrims and when it was my turn, they directed me to stay behind. It was when they finished the screening of other pilgrims, they told me about the fake visa.
“They spoke with NAHCON officials. It took them some time trying to resolve the issue but all to no avail. At the end, we were told that we were being taken back to Nigeria. And the rest is history now,” he narrated.
Lamenting the situation, Dahiru said, “It was really a sad experience. I couldn’t believe it will happen to me. You know as Muslim to see yourself there (Holy Land) and you were taken back to your country is not something easy to comprehend.”
Dahiru vowed to take legal action against the tour operator.
“Since I returned, my tour operator was looking for me to meet with me, but I am avoiding him because I don’t want to hear anything from him until we get to the court.
“Again I will take the issue to Saudi Consulate here so that I can be cleared for future travel,” he added.
Alhaji Muhammad Abba Danbatta, the executive secretary of the Kano State Pilgrims Welfare Board, confirmed the occurrence and said that the two deported pilgrims were not members of the board but had been snuck onto the list by a staff member.
“When I heard the incident around 2:00 am, I rushed to the airport and met with the two pilgrims one female and a male who claimed to be from our Sumaila centre.
“I called the Sumaila centre officer but he doesn’t know them and they did not know him. It was when we carried out thorough investigation we found out that the two pilgrims were deceived by one of our staff members by name Abdurrahman. He issued fake visas as well as receipts to them,” he said.
The staff member will be subject to the full force of the law, Danbatta said, adding that the matter had been referred to the appropriate authorities for further inquiry.
He said, “As I am talking to you now we are yet to meet with the accused staff as he couldn’t be reached on his mobile phone.
“But the case has been handed over to the Immigration for further investigation. I am assuring you that if he is found guilty he will definitely face the wrath of law accordingly.”
