Reports Thursday night said more Nigerian female pilgrims were deported from Saudi Arabia .They arrived Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport about 8.00pm with most of them in tears.
A day earlier ,171 female pilgrims were flown back to Nigeria in what signaled a hardening of position by the Saudi authorities .About 1000 Nigerian female pilgrims were detained in Saudi Arabia for not going to Hajj along with their male partners referred to as Muharram.
Vice President Namadi Sambo had invited the Saudi Arabian ambassador in Nigeria, Mr. Khaled Abdrabuh to his office and sought a quick resolution of the matter within 24 hours.He also urged the Saudi authorities to let him know if Nigerian pilgrims were not wanted this year.
But it later emerged that even as the moves to resolve the matter was ongoing the Saudi Authorities had started deporting Nigerian pilgrims.
Today,Speaker House of Representatives also went into talks with the Saudi ambassador and the speaker as well as the ambassador expressed hope that the issue would be resolved.
But the reported arrival of more deportees may be an indication that the Saudi authorities have indeed chosen to bar the detained female pilgrims from this year’s hajj.
