The Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency has promised to refund $50 to its pilgrims, following the downward price review it got from the company engaged in slaughtering animals on their behalf.

Speaking to newsmen at Makkah on Thursday, June 20, 2024, Air Vice Marshall Muhammad Rabiu Dabo (rtd) who chaired the Hadaya Committee, disclosed that the pilgrims will either be paid in Saudi Arabia or Nigeria, depending on their preferences.

Dabo said 1,357 pilgrims paid through the Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency but 700 pilgrims who paid in Nigeria are those who are eligible for the refund.

He further disclosed how his members met about five times, got input from everyone on the way to go about the assignment and met with the companies that procured and slaughtered animals in Makkah.

Slaughtering of rams or Hadaya is an important component of Hajj rites as pilgrims are expected to slaughter rams individually or contribute to buy a camel for slaughter.

Dabo recalled that Hadaya is one of the most complicated aspects of Hajj where pilgrims are often short-changed, adding that that was “why we took our time and negotiated with the companies”.

Nigerian pilgrim returns $800, other currencies in Makkah

According to him, the committee members did not just allow the companies to procure the rams and slaughter them on their own “but we went to the slaughtering house to see each ram ourselves before they were slaughtered.”

The committee chairman said the first company they met with was “a company owned by a Sudanese retired General Muhammad, who insisted that we pay 500 Riyals per ram, which translates to about N200,000, which is  $150.”

He added: “We argued that given the shortfall of the Basic Travelling Allowance that pilgrims were given $400 because of exchange rate that CBN applied, we pleaded that he should review it to 300 Riyals per ram to allow pilgrims to take care of other things.

“In the end, we got an Islamic Development Bank-accredited company which agreed to collect 375 Riyals per animal. We were at the slaughter house to physically inspect the animals and saw them being slaughtered.”

Dabo stated that with this review, pilgrims who paid for their Hadaya through the Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency will get a refund of about $50 each.

He further lamented the activities of some staff of the agency, who allegedly colluded with Africans who live in Saudi Arabia, promising them a better price of Hadaya, adding that “most of these pilgrims ended up being cheated”.

He advised that the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) should include the cost of Hadaya in the total Hajj package to protect pilgrims from “these unscrupulous elements”.

The Star