A female pilgrim in Medina, Hauwa Musa, from Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, who lost $750 Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), was later found by another pilgrim, Amina Abdullahi Gele, has expressed shock that the money was returned to her.

“Honestly, I had given up on the money after searching everywhere. I never imagined there are God fearing people because there was no form of identification on the envelope,” she said.

Gele, who is from the same Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State as Musa, told our reporter in Medina on Wednesday, that the money was left in the hotel’s bathroom on Monday morning.

“I found it in an unmarked envelope and it was a difficult task identifying the owner (but ) after a room to room enquiry, I became convinced that Hauwa was the owner,” she said.

Meanwhile, the national Hajj Commission (NAHCON) has announced the airlift of about 24,850 Nigerian pilgrims in a total of 59 flight to the Holy Land even as the first batch of Kaduna State contingents leave Medina for Mecca.

Out of the total figure of airlift so far, the Public Relations Officer of the Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Board, Yunus Makarfi, confirmed that, 5,157 Kaduna State pilgrims were airlifted from Kaduna International Airport.

With the steady progress made so far, coupled with the number of aircrafts scheduled for the operation by the airlines, the commission said the airlift may be completed before the closure of Saudi Arabia airspace.

The Chairman of NAHCON had promised during the flag off ceremony in Sokoto last Monday to ensure the completion of hajj airlift before the September 4 deadline set by the Saudi General Authority on Civil Aviation (GACA).

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