NAHCON steps up measures to tackle security lapses during 2019 Hajj

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has rolled out plans to check security lapses ahead of this year’s pilgrimage. 

A statement issued by the spokesperson of NAHCON, Fatima Usara, yesterday, said part of the measures was the inauguration of a 10-man central security monitoring team tasked with managing security matters in all aspects of the exercise, beginning from local fronts onwards to foreign domains. 

She said members of the committee were drawn from security agencies in the country, adding: “They were charged to be proactive, watching out for preventive strategies rather than post-mortem analysis of unfortunate occurrences.

“Particularly, their attentions were drawn to drug-related and human trafficking felons waiting to take advantage of the pilgrimage period to carryout their heinous trades.”

While inaugurating the committee at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, Chairman of NAHCON, Abdullahi Mohammed, said it is expected to ensure the safety of pilgrims from the moment they set out to the airports to the period of their stay in Saudi Arabia until they return to Nigeria.

He charged the members to look out for miscreants exploiting naïve Nigerian pilgrims during Hajj seasons.