The leader (Amir Hajj) of the Federal Capital Territory Muslim Pilgrims to Saudi Arabia this year, General Bagudu Mamman (Rtd) says the government is partly to be blamed for the detention and eventual deportation of some female pilgrims.
General Mamman who received the House of Representatives committee on foreign affairs at the Pilgrim’s Camp in Abuja said Nigeria could have avoided the face-off if earlier warnings had been heeded.
The camp was filled with pilgrims, many of whom should have been in Saudi Arabia by now but for the hitches in this year’s pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
The committee was told that 1000 pilgrims from the FCT have so far travelled for the hajj.
Meanwhile Chairman of the Committee, Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje advised intending pilgrims from FCT to be of good behaviour in Saudi Arabia.
“Every one of you is an ambassador of Nigeria while in the Holy Land, “she said.
Elendu-Ukeje said that the committee would do everything possible to ensure that the pilgrims perform hitch-free religious rites.
The chairman urged them to protect and uphold the good name that Nigerian pilgrims had been known for to avoid being treated the way some female pilgrims were treated recently.
The lawmaker said that the Presidential committee put in place to dialogue with the Saudi authorities, would ensure that the deported female pilgrims went back to perform the Hajj.
