The Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Abdullahi M. Muhammad, has inaugurated a central security monitoring team for 2019 Hajj.
The NAHCON spokesman, Fatima Sanda Usara, said this on Friday in a statement that the 10-man group draws membership from the country’s security agencies namely, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Department of State Security Service (DSS), the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
Others are Special Services Office from the Office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SSO, OSGF), Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Nigerian Custom Service (NCS), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
“They were tasked with the burden of managing security matters in all aspects of the 2019 exercise beginning from local fronts onwards to foreign domains. They were charged to be proactive, watching out for preventive strategies rather than post-mortem analysis of unfortunate occurrences. Particularly, their attentions were drawn to drug related as well as human trafficking felons waiting to take advantage of the pilgrimage period to carry out their heinous trades.“
“Generally, they are expected to gather intelligence reports that would guide the Commission even in its future plans. According to NAHCON’s Chairman, the ultimate objective of the team is to carry out missions that will translate to safety of Nigerian pilgrims from the moment they set out to the airports, to the period of their stay in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia until they return to Nigeria. They were enjoined to look out for miscreants exploiting naïve Nigerian pilgrims during Hajj seasons,” Usara said.
She quoted the Chairman of the committee, in his acceptance speech, as reassuring the commission that they are here to offer efficient service to NAHCON from their different professional perspectives.
She said the committee has since commenced its assignment.
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