No fewer than 550 pilgrims from Niger State who paid their Hajj fare through a private travel and tours agency yesterday protested the failure of the firm to airlift them to Saudi Arabia for this year’s Hajj.
The protest by the stranded pilgrims which lasted over three hours paralysed economic activities around the hotel where the agency’s office is located in Minna the state capital.
One of the frustrated pilgrims, Mohammed Usman, told LEADERSHIPWEEKEND that they staged the peaceful demonstration to register their grievances over the failure by the agency to keep to the terms of the agreement with the pilgrims.
Usman disclosed that only 150 out of the 700 people who paid for hajj fares of between N800,000 to N900,000 through the agency had been airlifted.
Some of the intending pilgrims interviewed said they had been at the premises of the agency for the past five days, but had not been given any explanation by the management of the agency.