About 1000 female Nigerian pilgrims are still detained by Saudi authorities even as the two countries are still involved in "high level diplomatic talks" to resolve the impasse, Daily Trust learnt last night.
However, high level sources hinted last night that the federal government is trying to sort out the issue through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, even as the House of Representatives resolved yesterday to probe the issue.
"A letter signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs has already been delivered to the Saudi authorities over the issue. We don't know whether they will accept it," the source who is involved with the issue told Daily Trust last night.
Investigations revealed that apart from the initial 400 pilgrims who arrived at the holy land on board flight 17 last Sunday, 600 additional female pilgrims on flights 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22, from Katsina, Kano and Zamfara states were also detained at the airport on arrival.
The female pilgrims were detained on arrival when they couldn't produce individual maharram, that is, the approved male companion accompanying them on the trip, usually a husband, father or brother, demanded by the Saudis.
But the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON)'s Commissioner of Operations, Alhaji Muhammad Abdullahi Mukhtar told our reporter yesterday that the it is not true that the pilgrims couldn't produce muharram. He said the State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards (SMPWB) "qualify and identify as muharram of female pilgrims. And that has been the case for so many decades."
He said that the situation is so confusing that "the Saudis randomly select flights to screen and detain."
"All the 10 flights that landed in Medina were allowed into the country without any incidence. Also, flights 23, 24 and 25 were not touched at all," he said.
Mukhtar wondered why only Nigerian pilgrims were selected for this treatment by the Saudi authorities. "In fact, there is no such issue in the memorandum of understanding signed between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia," he said.
He said that it was not true that the first two Max air flights conveying Sokoto and Jigawa pilgrims on Sunday "were intercepted because only women were aboard."
"Look at the manifest, all our flights carry both men and women," he said.
Another top official said that the Saudis' action is uncalled for because the fear of pilgrims refusing to come back home is no longer tenable.
"Since the introduction of e-passport by NAHCON adequately addressed the cases of pilgrims staying back in the holy land. In 2011, only 20 pilgrims absconded.
When did you see Saudi plane landing in Nigeria with deportees? The situation has been drastically addressed," he said.
Reports indicate also that the pilgrims are being detained in deplorable condition. One of the detained pilgrims, Bilkisu Nasidi, who spoke to the BBC Focus on Africa programme on Monday, said that the women were being held in "terrible condition."
She said there were about 400 of them (as at Monday) and they were being held in very unsuitable circumstance. She said they had been sleeping on the floor for three days, and an average of 200 women share four toilets.
She denied that all of them were without Maharram or guardian and that some of such guardians have opted not to leave the airport in order to give them some comfort.
"If they don't want us to go into Saudi Arabia let them take us home, we are tired," Bilkisu Nasidi said.
The Nigerian Consul in Jeddah, Ambassador Abdullahi Umar had told BBC Hausa Service on Monday that the Nigerian officials had been providing food and toiletries for the detained pilgrims, adding that a formal letter had been delivered to the Saudis and the issue was being taken up with the Governor of Makkah region, who would decide on the matter.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives yesterday commenced an investigation into the circumstance leading to the detention of the women whose number has now risen to about 1000 by the Saudi Arabian authorities in Jeddah.
Adopting a motion on matter of urgent national importance sponsored by Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Suleiman Kawu Sumaila (ANPP, Kano), the House mandated its Committee on Foreign Affairs to interface with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and report back today.
In his motion, Sumaila expressed shock that the affected pilgrims were people who applied for Saudi Arabian visas, and were approved by its embassy without such rules made known to them.
He said that the action of the Saudi authorities negated the long standing understanding between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia on Hajj performance.
Also, Rep. Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje (PDP,Abia) who chairs the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said her committee was interfacing with officials of the foreign ministry to secure pilgrims release.
However, Rep. Alhassan Ado Doguwa (PDP, Kano) blamed the Nigerian ambassador to Saudi Arabia for treating the issue with laxity by claiming that "he is on top of the situation" whereas "it is the situation that is on top of him."
Meanwhile a Saudi embassy official in Abuja told Daily Trust in confidence last night that officials of the two countries were making diplomatic efforts to sort out the matter and they will address the press when the matter is settled.
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Holy land indeed.in my opinion if Nigerians are not wanted in Saudi ,the visa was supposed not be granted initially,this action by Saudi authority is predetermined,not an occurrence of instant ,but a long animosity in hostile Arabian land.I feel very sad for those religion extremism ,if not why seeking holy land in Arab land,while Nigeria is blessed with vast holiest land.nigerian both Christian and Muslim should desist and rethink of their religioius madness,devoted more than respective religion origin.
DO NOT CONUFSE YOURSELF, WHEN YOU SAY ARABIAN LANDS!ARABIAN LANDS ! ARE BLACK LANDS YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT. AS FOR THE WHITE SAUDIS WHOM ARE AMERICAN PUPPETS .THE SAUDI NAME IS INSTITUTED IN THE COUNTRY THEY OWN THIS LAND THEY CALL AFTER THEMSELVES. THEY ARE NOT TRUE MUSLIMS THEY ARE NOT INHERITORS OF THE ISLAMIC JURISPRUDENCE; LIKE OSAMA BIN LADEN HOW COULD THEY ALLOW FOR THE SO CALLED HOLY LAND TO BE OCCUPIED BY SATANIC PEOPLE. AS FOR TRUE ISLAM IT SI TIME TO RECOGNISE THAT THE TRUE CAPITOL IS IRUSALEM THIS WAS WHERE DAVID BUILT THE GREAT TEMPLES. IT IS SHAMEFUL THAT MOST AFRICANS LIVING IN THE EAST DO NOT KNOW THIER CULTURES THIER HISTORY THEY ARE OS BRAINWASHED THAT THEY REFUSE TO RECOGNISE THAT THEY LIVE IN THE EAST AND THIS WAS WHERE IT ALL BEAGN AND THE BLACK AMN WAS THE ULTIMATE TEACHER BUILDER AND THERE ARE STAUES MONUMENST ALL OVER AFRICA REMINDING THE AFRICAN OF HIS GREATNESS YET THEY WONT SIGHT THE REMINDERS TYHEY ARE NOT BEINGE XPOSED TO THE TRUTH ENOUGH. THERE MUST BE A MORE RADICAL TECHNIQUE USED TO IMPROVE SELF AWARENESS THAT WILL DENY THE ABILITY OF THE WEST TO DIVIDE AND REINFORCE THIER RACIST IDEO;LOGIES . LOOK AT GADAFFI HE SAW THE LIGHT YET THERE WERE PEOPLE IN LIBAY MURDERING BLACK PEOPLE COMMITTING GENOCIDEAND THEY KNEW NOT WHAT THEY DID. THY DONT EVEN SEE THAT THEY ARE MIXED WITH BLACK BLOOD. THEY DONT REALISE THAT AFRICA THE MID EAST WAS ALL BLACK . THEY DONT SIGHT THAT ALL THE PAINTINGS IN EGYPT HAVE BEEN TAMPERED WITH AND ALOT OF THE MONUMNETS THEY GOT FROM SUDAN THEY HAVE RECOLOURED TAMPERED WITH ALL THE MONUMENST RECONSTRUCT A BROWN EGYPT WHEN THE FACT IS THEY FOUDNA BLACK EGYPT. THEY EVEN PAINYED LIBYANS AS WHITE THEY ARE ASICK IMSANE RACIST PEOPLE WHO WANST TO DENY THE BLACK MAN AT EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. "LEARN AFRICA THAT WE ARE THE FATHER OF ALL ANTIONS THE BLACK MAN SETTLED THE ENTIRE REGION WROTE ALL BOOKS OF PREDATED HISTORY OF WHITES. THE BIBLE IS BLACK HISTORICAL IDEOLOGY OF MONOTHEISM THAT WAS THE PARCTICE OF ALL AFRICAN PEOPLE. IN THE WIZENESS OF THE INTELLECT OF THE "ALLMIGHTY GOD" THE ISOLATION FO GENES WITHIN MAN WAS DCREED AND MAN BECAME MAN OF DIFFERNT COLOURS HOW EVER THE DNA F THE TIRBES OF ADAAM ARE WELL ROUTED INTHE AFRICAN GENE. THERE ARE TWO TYPE OF ORIGINAL AFRICANS THE AUSTROLOIDS WHO LAETR SETTLED ASIAAND AUSTRALIA THEN THERE WAS THE ADAAMITE WHOM IS IAND I THE BLACK AFRICAN EOPLE WHOM WERE DIRECTED TO SPREAD THE WORD OF THE "ALLMIGHTY GOD" ROUND THE WORLD. WE BROUGHT CIVILIZATIONS TO ALL ANTIONS WE EVEN HAD TO BRING CULTUREE TO THE AUSTROLOIDS THEY REJECTED THE TEACHINGS OF MOSES AND SELECTED TO EMBRACE THE STORY WE KNOW TODAY AS HINDU. THERE WS A TIME WHEN THERE WAS LEPROSY UPON THE LAND AND MANY WERE EXPELLED FROM THE LANDS OF THE MID EAST AND AFRICA THEY SETTLED IN EUROPE THEY ARE THE CAUCOSOIDS . THEY HAD DIFFERNT MIGRATIONS WHERE THEY RETUREND ORGANISED AND TOOK MOST OF ASIA WHERE TODAY WE SEE THIER REMNANTS IN INDIA THEY WERE KNOWN AS ARYANS. DO NOT GET IT TWISTED THERE WAS ANOTHER TIE OF GREAT SIGNIFICANT CHANGE WHEN WE SAW THE PEOPLE BEING TREATED BY CHRIST AND RETURNING THEM TO THIER ORIGINAL COLOURS. RECOGNISE THAT THERE HAS BEENA CONSERTED EFFORT TO TAKE YOUR HISTORY THIS JUST ANOTHER PART OF IT. EVE THE MOTHER OF CRATION THE BLACK WOMAN THE LITTLE SODOMITES THE AUTOCRTAS THE PUPPETS ARE AFRAID OF BLACK PEOPLE REGAINING THIER LANDS AND TAKING THIER CROWNS AWAY FROM THESE IMPOSTERS. HOW CAN THES TWO PEOPLE BE SO CLOSED I MEAN TH JEWS AND THESE SO CALLED ARABS. THEY ARE BOTH FRAUDS IMPERSONATORSNEITHER ONE IS WHOM THEY CLAIM TO BE. THEY WHO SAY THEY ARE ISRAEL CALLING THEMSLVES JEWS ARE INDEED JEWS ZIONISAT WHO KNOWS NOTHING OF THE TRUTH OF ISRAEL ADAAM OR THE CULTIVATION OF ITS PROPHETS WE HAVE NEVER MET A WHITE PRPHET AND THEY CAN NOT CLAIM TO HAVE KNOWLDGE OF ANY WHITE PROPHETS FURTHER MORE THE LAST PROPHET WAS INDEED BLACK THIS WAS FACT. FIRST FOREMOST THE PROPHET NEVER SANCTIONED SLAVERY AND UPHELD OPPRESSION IN ANY WAY THESE ARE STORIES BY WHITE EUROEPANS AND THE STORYTELLERS OF MIXED DESCENT ALONG WITH WHITE WRITERS WHO ACCEPTED ISLAM AFTER THE DEPARTURE OF THE PROPHET WHO WROTE THESE HOLY BOOKS IN THE NAMES OF ALL THE PROPHETS "PEACE BE UPON HTEM ALL!! ADAAM THE FIRST THE BLACKEST OF ALL MAN IS WHOM WE MUST RECOGNISE AS THE FIRST OF HUMANITY; THE GREAT CREATORS. THERE IS A AGAIN I REFER TO YOU A CONCERTED EFFORT TO DENY THE AFRICAN AN NOW THE WOMAN THIER TRUE HSITORY THE KNOWLEDGE OF SELF TRUTH" "PEACE TO ALL AFRICANS ARABS"
...OMG (and I ain't Christian)...y'all scare the Bejeezus outa me... ...No rhyme nor reason...nothing but SHOUTING your outrage.. ...No thoughtful discourse, no acommodation... ...and you'll create VIOLENCE for your "prophet")
.........absolutely ridiculous...
ALL of you...you and your "gods", "prophets" and non-sensical historic figures... animism makes just as much sense. ...a "holy rock"....puleeze...
They went to see Allah but Allah didn't want to see them till next year. Nigerians are paying abroad their corruption sins at home.
AllAfrica should ban ras sideeq from commenting on this forum. an Islamic lunatic who praises Osama Bin Ladin and pour insult on the Saudi-Arabia for aligning with the West. I have asked severally if Africa in general and Nigeria in particular do not have Economists to evaluate the leakage Pilgrimage to Middle-East is causing to African economy? Pilgrims to Saudi-Arabia have gone to import not only religious extremism but also the Killer SARS-Virus that killed over 800 around Asia in 2003. Do African countries have the medical facilities to wage against this deadly disease from spreading? The answer is "NO". Wasting African economy on pilgrimage underscores the level Africans are primitive. Religion cum Willful-Ignorance, is a disease that keep Africa statically uncivilized.
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