By Abdallah el-Kurebe
The first batch of 520 pilgrims from Sokoto state, on yesterday took off for this year’s pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
The pilgrims from Gada, Binji and Isa local government areas took off in Max Air Boeing 747 at 10.45pm.
In a farewell message, Governor Aliyu Wamakko called on the pilgrims to be good ambassadors of the state while in the Holly land.
He particularly called on the female pilgrims to avoid spending their money extravagantly.
A renowned Islamic scholar, Sheikh Buhari Siriddawa warned pilgrims not to entrust their money for sacrifice to anyone other than the committee in charge of that.
Meanwhile, the second batch of about 500 pilgrims from Wamakko, Dange Shuni and Sabon Birni local government areas have been screened and waiting to take off with the next available flight.
In the same vein, pilgrims for the third batch from Tangaza, Bodinga and Shagari local government areas are now being screened.
Newsdiaryonline.com gathered that out of the 5,019 pilgrims allotted to the state, visas of 2,300 pilgrims have been secured from Saudi Embassy.
Newsdiaryonline.com investigations revealed that no pilgrim has been found by Customs Service, National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and Immigration to have committed any offense.
Commander of NDLEA, Misbahu Idris warned pilgrims against accepting bags of other pilgrims, no matter how close, for safe keeping.
