Barring any change of plan, Nigerian pilgrims who performed this year’s Hajj are billed to start returning home from Monday.
This is even so as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, General Authority for Statistics announced that an estimated 2,371,675, pilgrims performed the 2018 hajj, while 166,017,250 stones were thrown in the “stoning of the devil” ritual at the Jamarat, in the third and final day.
Chairman of National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Abdullahi Mohammed, said the first flight is expected to carry pilgrims from Kogi state. Kogi pilgrims were the first to be airlifted to Saudi Arabia during Hajj 2018 inaugural flight in Abuja on July 21. Before the commencement of the return flights, NAHCON will hold a post Arafat conference where Nigeria’s outing during the Hajj will be appraised.
The conference will have in attendance all relevant Hajj officials from both the federal and state governments, as well as private tour operators.
Our correspondent reports that the Arab News, said the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, General Authority for Statistics had confirmed the figure. Some 2,371,675 pilgrims performed Hajj this year with about 55,000, Nigerians, 1,758,722, were from outside the Kingdom and 612,953 from within, according to the General Authority for Statistics.
The statistics showed that as sunset came to Minnah on Thursday, the second day of Tashreeq, “some 166,017,250 stones had been thrown at the Jamarat during the ritual ‘Stoning of the Devil’ over Eid-Al-Adha and the first two days of Tashreeq.” Reports have it that Thursday saw “huge numbers of pilgrims” and 1.6 million stoning the three pillars and performing Tawaaf prayers in the Grand Mosque, according to Col. Tariq AlGhabban, director of the Command and Control Center.
