Sokoto confirms death of chief Imam, others in Hajj stampede

THE Sokoto State Pilgrims Welfare Agency has confirmed that Sheikh Liman Dan-Ata, the Chief Imam of the Sultan Abubakar III Jumaa’at Mosque, Sokoto, is among those killed in the stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia.

The Media Assistant to the agency, Alhaji Farouk Umar, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday.

NAN recalls that the state government had in a statement issued on Saturday by Imam Imam, spokesman to Governor Aminu Tambuwal, confirmed the killing of nine other pilgrims from the state in the stampede.

In a statement in Sokoto on Saturday, the government said that its officials, led by the Amirul Hajj and leader of its delegation, the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ahmad Aliyu, who was still in Saudi Arabia, confirmed the tragedy. 


It said that the team was still working round-the-clock to identify many of the pilgrims from the state who were injured in the incident.


The agency has also confirmed the death of the immediate Caretaker Chairman of Illela Local Council of the state, Alhaji Bello Gidan-Hamma, his mother, stepmother and two his wives in the stampede.

According to the statement, those injured are receiving treatment ‎in different hospitals in Saudi Arabia.


“At this moment of grief and sober reflection, the state government urges all citizens to remain calm and intensify prayers as we await further confirmation from authorities concerned. May God bless the souls of those who died and may His healing ‎be visited upon all the injured. May God console us all,” the statement said.

At the time of writing this report, many pilgrims from the state were still declared missing.