Nigerian Pilgrims Dupes One Another In Saudi Arabia

According to Leadership, there have been several cases of Nigerian hajj pilgrims duping their fellow travellers.

Reports from Mecca, Saudi Arabia are that more Nigerian pilgrims have taken to defrauding their compatriots while on pilgrimage to the Muslim holy land.

A new case is that of a female pilgrim from Kebbi state, Rakiya Usman who was duped of her own basic traveling allowances (BTA) amounting to 1000 dollars by another pilgrim on the grounds of trying to make change for her. Poor Rakiya was only left with 4$ dollars after the evil act.

The acting secretary of the state’s media committee of 2016 hajj exercise, Aliyu Jajirma Kanya, who confirmed the incident in a statement on Wednesday, August 31, said that the woman was almost rendered helpless after having no money left to cater to her daily needs.

The statement also confirmed that similar episodes have also been witnessed. It cited the examples of another female pilgrim whose her BTA was stolen by one of her roommates just some days ago and another male pilgrim who was also duped of his BTA by an unknown pilgrim.

Kanya said efforts to track down the culprit have not yielded any result so far.

Meanwhile, an Abuja-based Islamic scholar, Sheikh Yahya Al-Yolawi, has shockingly advised intending pilgrims to settle their debts and leave their wills behind before travelling to Saudi Arabia.

On Friday, August 26, in Abuja, Al-yolawi, who is the Chief Imam of Area 10 Mosque, made the call while delivering Jumma’at sermon title: “Essential tips for Hajj Preparations.”

“An intending pilgrim should settle his debts and leave behind him a clear record as well as writing all his wills or what he intends to pass to his family,’’ he said.