Not less than 10 Nigerian Muslims on pilgrimage to Mecca have been confirmed dead on Monday by Aliyu Tanko, the Co-ordinator of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).
More than 64,000 intending Pilgrims from Nigeria were conveyed to the holy city of Madinah for this year’s Hajj to the Holy land.
According to Aliyu Tanko, 10 of the Nigerians will not be participating in this years’ spiritual exercise which will commenceon Thursday, the 8th day of Dhul Hijjah, the 12th month of Muslim calendar.
They (the deceased) passed away in Saudi Arabia while on the sacred journey.
Tanko also noted that several preventive measures against the deadly Ebola Virus Disease are being carried out on the pilgrims.
Abdul Ghani Al-Malki, the supervisor of Haj affairs at the terminal confirmed this saying,
“they are particularly checking pilgrims coming from countries with reported cases of Ebola including Nigeria,Kenya and Congo.”