Hajj Stampede: Official Report Says 43 Nigerians Still Missing

Fresh reports from the 2015 Hajj exercise in Mina, Saudi Arabia, which witnessed a tragic stampede, have indicated that 43 Nigerians are still missing.

With a total of 75,081 Nigerian pilgrim participants in the Hajj exercise, months after the conclusion of the exercise, a synopsis of what transpired has indicated that Nigeria recorded a total of 280 deaths in the crane incident at the Grand Mosque in Makkah on September 11 and the stampede in Mina on September 24, while 43 are considered missing as their status are yet to be ascertained.

The report, according to a statement issued Wednesday night in Abuja by the Director of Press in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Bolaji Adebiyi, was submitted to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, David Babachir Lawal, by the committee on the 2015 Hajj exercise.

Chairman of the committee, Abdullahi Mohammed, described the exercise as the most eventful in the history of Hajj operations in Nigeria with pilgrims witnessing two tragic events, the crane incident at the Grand Mosque in Makkah on September 11 and the stampede in Mina on September 24.

According to him, the report submitted contains observations and recommendations that will ensure seamless exercises in the future.

Receiving the report, Lawal said he was particularly impressed with the conduct of the chairman in providing the government and indeed, the general public, adequate and incontrovertible information throughout the crisis. He assured the commission that the report will receive the attention of the government.

Lawal, however, commended the chairman and the entire board of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria for their performance in Saudi Arabia, especially, during the tragedies at the Hajj.