Following the conclusion of the airlift of Nigerian pilgrims for this year’s Hajj, the Independent Hajj Reporters (IHR), a civil society organisation, has called on the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards to immediately organise an appraisal of the 2025 Hajj exercise and be transparent with the 2026 exercise.
The demands by the body were contained in a statement signed and made available to newsmen by its National Coordinator, Ibrahim Muhammed, on Sunday.
In the statement, the IHR urged NAHCON and relevant agencies to establish an open platform to review the 2025 operations.
The goal, it said, is to prevent a recurrence of critical service failures observed during this year’s Hajj.
The IHR emphasised that the review should be a candid self-evaluation based on factual references, avoiding self-congratulations or political grandstanding.
While acknowledging improvements in some areas such as the first phase of the airlift and services in Mina, Saudi Arabia, IHR highlighted the need for an investigation into sensitive failures in security and medical screening.
Specifically, the CSO called for a probe into how dangerous criminals found their way into the pilgrims’ registration database without detection, which led to the arrest of wanted kidnappers during the outbound and return flights.
It also urged authorities to revisit the widespread complaints regarding inadequate medical attention both in Makkah and Madinah, and why the system failed to spot a nine-month-old pregnant lady from Zamfara State who gave birth during this year’s Hajj.
The statement also addressed the embarrassing situation surrounding the payment of allowances to some ad-hoc officials in Makkah and the uncoordinated flight manifest and issue of inadequate bed spaces in Madina, stating that these issues should be on the review agenda.
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It said: “Most state pilgrims’ accommodation during this year’s hajj is located far away from the Grand Mosque in Makkah, thereby denying pilgrims the opportunity to regularly observe prayers at the Haram.
“There is a need to revisit pilgrims’ accommodation guidelines to prevent a repeat in the 2026 Hajj.”
Looking ahead to the 2026 Hajj, IHR noted that preparations have already begun.
It urged NAHCON to promptly implement the newly released 2026 Hajj calendar of events from the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
The organisation stressed that the calendar allows no room for delays in implementing Hajj activities, particularly concerning services in Saudi Arabia and pilgrims’ registration.
