The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) secured 16 five-star hotels for Nigerian pilgrims in Markassiya area of Madinah to avoid past constant loss of many lives due to road traffic accidents.
The Madinah Coordinator of NAHCON, Alhaji Ahmed Maigari, who spoke with journalists on Wednesday, said the hotels had 15,093 bed space.
Maigari said the proximity of the hotels to Masjid Nabawiyy (Prophet’s Mosque) had prevented Nigerian pilgrims from road crashes occasioned by the location of their places of residence outside Markassiya.
He said the closeness of the hotels to Prophet’s Mosque had provided the necessary comfort for the pilgrims.
Maigari said 11 scholars had so far arrived to preach morals and enlighten pilgrims on Hajj rites.
In a related development, President, Students’ Union, Islamic University, Madinah, Abdulkabeer Adegbeye, has advised pilgrims to exemplify the good character of Prophet Muhammad
In an interview with him in Madinah, Adegbeye urged them to be good ambassadors of Islam.
Meanwhile, as at Wednesday, 29, 403 Nigerian pilgrims had been airlifted to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in a total of 60 flights.
The pilgrims were from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos, Bauchi, Taraba, Yobe, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Gombe, Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Kwara, Kogi, Sokoto, Adamawa, Niger, Edo, Ekiti, Ondo and Zamfara States.
