Sophia Michaels
Former officials of the Kano Pilgrims Welfare Agency who fraudulently sold 156 Hajj slots are now in serious trouble as the state government has promised to diligently prosecute those behind the fraudulent acts.
The National Hajj Commission had allocated 6, 144 seats to Kano, but the agency’s official headed by Muhammad Abba Danbatta, sold additional Hajj seats to 156 intending pilgrims.
The Director General of the Agency, Laminu Rabiu, on Wednesday, made the disclosure.
According to him: “Kano State has been allocated 6,144. On resumption of duty after my appointment as the Director General, I found out that all the seats have been sold by the then Secretary. I did not meet any available seats.
“Moreso, he had oversold the seats by about 156 seats, meaning that [those affected] will not be able to perform the Hajj even after making all payments and fulfilling the requirements.
“It is really very sad to collect people’s money and disappoint them after they might have informed all and sundry that they were going to attend the pilgrimage.”
He added: “We have pleaded with them to be patient and assured them that next year they will be among the first to be considered. Already 2, 558 have been successfully airlifted to the Holy Land.
“We are going to investigate the incident after the Hajj and ensure that whosoever is found guilty of any wrongdoings faces the wrath of the law accordingly.”
Meanwhile, the agency is awaiting the allocation of aircraft to the state by the National Hajj Commission in the next few days.
