NEWS & REPORTS

Saudi deports 171 Nigerian female pilgrims

Saudi deports 171 female pilgrims 1,000 detained in Mecca N/Assembly directs Jonathan to intervene

THE number of Nigerian female pilgrims being held in prison-like detention by the Saudi Arabian authorities has risen to 1,000. This is just as 171 female pilgrims deported from Saudi Arabia arrived at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano on Wednesday evening amidst tears.


As of Sunday night when the women, mostly under the age of 35 years, were stopped at the airports in Jeddah and Medina by Saudi authorities for travelling without chaperones, as contained in an agreement between officials of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), on Wednesday, reported that Nigerian officials were working to secure the release of the women who were said to be sleeping on the floor and sharing four toilets.
Nigeria's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Abubakar Bunu, was reported to have made a formal protest to the foreign affairs office in the capital, Riyadh, on Wednesday.
One of the victims, Bilkisu Nasidi, was quoted by the BBC to have said her group was being held in Jeddah because the surnames on their passports did not match those of their husbands.
Meanwhile, the 171 female pilgrims who were deported from Saudi Arabia arrived at Malam Aminu Kano Internatioanl Airport in tears, saying they were subjected to myriad of inhuman treatments by the Saudi Arabian authorities.
However, the female pilgrims said that the Saudi authorities said they were denied entry because they were not accompanied by their relatives to the holy land in line with the rules and regulations of the Saudi authority.
However, some of them said another batch of 1,000 were in Saudi airport camp detention waiting for the next plane to airlift them out of the airport to the country.
According to most of them who were interviewed, they were not even allowed to disembark from the airplane which carried them for the hajj operation.
The 171 pilgrims were brought in by Max Air and they comprised pilgrims from Katsina and Taraba states.
It was gathered from some of the returnees at the airport that the 171 victims of the Saudi policy arrived at Medina Airport on Tuesday night but were not allowed to disembark from the aircraft from where they began their journey back home.
The Max Air plan that brought them arrived at the Kano airport at 5.30 pm and most of them were in tears as they narrated the sad experience they went through while in the holy land.
Hajia Amina Musa, one of the affected victims wept, as she narrated her ordeal.
According to her, "in our case, we were not given water to drink. There was no food for us as we remained glued on our seats in our aircraft.
"We even gathered that some have stayed for three to four days without eating, drinking water or even taking bath, while almost all of them slept on a bare floor."
As of the time of this report, a corresponding number of rejected Nigerian female pilgrims were being expected today on board Kabo Air plane.
Executive Secretary, Kano Pilgrims Board, Alhaji Rabi'u Laminu, who was at the Kano Airport on Wednesday evening to see the returnees, confirmed that 1,000 female pilgrims from the country are being held in Jeddah on the order of the Saudi government.
Speaking on the development, Laminu said the action of the Saudi authorities was condemnable, since the pilgrims were in Saudi Arabia for the hajj operation.
In another development, the Senate, on Wednesday, directed President Goodluck Jonathan to immediately secure the release of all Nigerian female pilgrims detained in Saudi Arabia.
This is sequel to a motion sponsored by Senator Abubakar Bagudu, who called the attention of the Senate to the refusal of the Saudi authorities to grant entry to over 500 Nigerian female pilgrims.
The Senate, while condemning the discriminatory detention of Nigerian pilgrims, asked President Jonathan to intervene immediately.
Senate President, David Mark, insisted that efforts must be made to ensure that the pilgrims were released and allowed to perform hajj.
Also, the House of Representatives, on Wednesday, gave President Jonathan and the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) a marching order to see to the release of about 1,000 female pilgrims detained by the Saudi authorities over alleged non-compliance with their visa laws.
Chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Honourable Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje, who gave the order during an interactive session with officials of NAHCON, said there was no justification for the continued detention of the female pilgrims.
By Kola Oyelere, Ayodele Adesanmi, Segun Olatunji and Kolawole Daniel