From Furera Mohammed, Madinah
Four Nigerian pilgrims from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been arrested by Saudi authorities for not wearing their NUSUK ID cards, which serve as a means of identification for pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.
A roommate of the detained pilgrims informed our reporter that the arrests took place around 1 pm yesterday in front of the FCT pilgrims’ hotel, Nama Al-Asriya, opposite Land Premium in Shara Mansur.
The Director of the FCT Muslim Pilgrims Board Mallam Abubakar Evuti confirmed the arrests stated that the board is aware of the situation and has been making efforts to secure their release.
He mentioned that the issue stemmed from an activation fault on the Saudi end, as the board had already secured NUSUK cards for three of the four arrested pilgrims.
“Ours is to ensure that we get the cards from the Saudi service provider and distribute them to our pilgrims, and this process is ongoing. Three of the four arrested have their NUSUK cards, and the remaining one will receive his today.
“We have also embarked on sensitization here in Mecca, telling them to always carry their NUSUK cards,” the Director said.
Another pilgrim noted that FCT officials had earlier asked those yet to receive their NUSUK cards to come by 4 pm today to collect them.
It was gathered that the arrested pilgrims did not have their Hajj visas or NUSUK cards as advised by the FCT Muslim Pilgrims Board and the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).
Further inquiries revealed that three of the arrested pilgrims possessed NUSUK cards, with one of them having an ID number 6119379260.
However, the card showed no information when scanned by the Saudi Civil Defense Force, indicating it had not been activated, which led to their arrest.
A highly placed source later indicated that the detained pilgrims had been released to NAHCON and are now in Mecca, though this is yet to be confirmed.
It will be recalled that both NAHCON and the Saudi Arabia Hajj authority have embarked on an enlightenment campaign, urging Nigerian pilgrims to always wear their NUSUK ID cards to avoid being arrested. The Kingdom is intensifying efforts to address the issue of illegal pilgrims, which has become a significant challenge.
