Two female pilgrims from Oyo State were apprehended by Saudi authorities for drug-related offences during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
This was disclosed by the Secretary of the Oyo State Pilgrims Welfare Board, Alhaji Adeleke Abdulkareem, in an interview on Monday with the News Agency of Nigeria in Ibadan.
He noted that 1,191 pilgrims from the state performed this year’s Hajj, while stressing that one of the two suspects escaped arrest by Saudi authorities while the other is still being detained.
According to him, the culprits were found with a drug called Tramador, which is banned in Saudi Arabia and the pilgrims had been warned against.
Furthermore, he said that two pilgrims died on due to ill health, while confirming that the last set of pilgrims from the state arrived on October 11.
Abdulkareem charged pilgrims to adhere to stipulated rules while on pilgrimage to the holy land and stop embarrassing and tarnishing Nigeria’s image by getting themselves arrested.