A Nigerian pilgrim escaped being deported by the Saudi Arabian authorities by the whiskers after he was arrested among illegal immigrants in Makkah.
According to report, the pilgrim was arrested by the Police in Saudi Arabia, who raided a house full of illegal immigrants and arrested everyone found at the time of the raid.
It was gathered that the pilgrim, who was arrested alongside others found in the building, was saved by the wristband put on the wrists of all pilgrims performing this year’s Hajj.
It was learnt that the band distinguished the Nigerian pilgrim as being in the country legally to perform the spiritual exercise, having been granted visa by the Saudi authorities.
The medium reported that when the police realised that the pilgrim was not an illegal immigrant, he was dropped off to find his way back to his hotel in Makkah.
Being in an unknown place, the pilgrim, according to a source, called another pilgrim who in turn informed Nigerian officials. The officials were said to have gone to pick the pilgrim from where he was dropped off by the police.
An official of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), who confirmed the incident, said officials went to pick the pilgrim back to his hotel.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the pilgrim on interrogation told them that he went to the house to visit his relative who had been leaving in Saudi Arabia for a while when the raid was conducted.
“He told us that he wanted to seize the opportunity of being in Makkah to visit his family, which he said described where he was living to him on the phone.
“The family described the house to him and he went to visit but unfortunately for him, the Saudi police raided the house at the time he was there,” the NAHCON official said.
The official, who noted that the incident happened shortly before Arafat day, warned Nigerian pilgrims to be mindful of where they go during the rest of their stay in Saudi Arabia.
“Our pilgrims must be mindful of where they go and what they do before they return to Nigeria. Saudi Arabia law does not respect anybody.
“Anyone caught doing anything illegal will face the appropriate sanction as stipulated by the laws here. It is in view of this that I am appealing to our people (pilgrims) to be law abiding and careful of where they go and what they do here till they will depart Saudi Arabia for Nigeria,” the official said.
The Nigeria Tribune