The Kaduna State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board says it has begun the airlift of pilgrims back home from Saudi Arabia.
The Public Relations Officer of the board, Yunusa Abdullahi, said in a statement released in Kaduna on Monday that the first batch of 448 pilgrims arrived the Kaduna International Airport in the early hours of Monday via MedView Airline flight.
“The return journey started after successful completion of Hajj rites by pilgrims from the state,’’ he said.
Abdullahi stated that the second flight is expected to arrive Kaduna on Tuesday evening.
According to him, four pilgrims from the state died while on pilgrimage.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a total of 6,713 pilgrims from the state performed this year’s hajj.