Abuja
The Association for Hajj and Umrah Operators of Nigeria (AHUON) has raised the alarm that over 93, 000 intending pilgrims from Nigeria might miss the 2018 hajj exercise.
The association, which raised the fear yesterday, described the mandatory enrolment process of fingerprint collection and photo capture for applicants by VFS TasHeel International as frustrating.
It said the process might deny thousands of intending pilgrims the privilege of performing their religious obligation.
In a protest visit to VFS office yesterday, the body lamented the inhuman treatment meted out to the applicants, including alleged extortion by some staff of the organization, and asked that it should be allowed to capture it clients to relieve them of the stress of traveling thousands of miles just to capture their finger prints.
Speaking after the meeting, a leader of the association who did not want his name in print said, “We are here to see what is happening at the VFS centre in respect of biometrics capturing of the intended pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.
“The challenge now is the delay. You can see people that have been here for days, and yet are not able to be captured. At times, it takes hours for one person’s biometrics to be captured and if one is going for Umrah, the delay can lead to missing of flight, with what is going on, thousands of Nigeria intending pilgrims will miss the forthcoming hajj.
Manager of VSF TASHEEEL, Mr Vinets, however, assured that the organisation had the capacity to capture the Nigerian pilgrims, saying it had ordered additional machines for the exercise.
Also, the Head of Security at VFS, Mr Peter Otu, urged the agents to give evidence against those extorting money, assuring that the organisation would deal with them accordingly.
