About 1,120 pilgrims from Gombe state have returned home late Monday night, from Saudi Arabia, after they successfully performed this year’s hajj exercise.
The Max Airline carrying 560 pilgrims left the King Abdul’Aziz International Airport, Jeddah at 9:23pm Saudi time and landed at the Gombe International Airport at 11:23pm local time, with some officials of the state Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board and members of the Amirul Hajj team.
Our correspondent reports that 1,448 performed the 2019 pilgrimage from the state, out of which a female pilgrim died in Makkah shortly after performing the Hajj exercise.
The remaining 327 pilgrims who are still at Makkah, include the Amirul Hajj and Emir of Gombe, Alhaji Abubakar Shehu Abubakar III, the Executive Secretary of the pilgrims board and other officials who are expected back in the country on Thursday.
The first batch of Gombe pilgrims returned to Nigeria last Thursday via Max Airline with 560 pilgrims.
Pilgrims from the state had left Nigeria in three flights to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj exercise, on July 20, 27 and August 3 respectively.
