By DEJI ABDULWAHAB

Kwara Amiru Hajj, Alhaji Ismail Bolaji Yahaya, says 15 pilgrims from the state were defrauded of their 500 dollars Basic Travel Allowance (BTA) by some disgruntled elements in Madina, Saudi Arabia.

Yahaya disclosed this while speaking with newsmen in Makkah on Tuesday.

He said that the investigation carried out by the stakeholders and management of Kwara Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board revealed that the affected pilgrims were of Fulani extraction from the state.

“Our investigation revealed that some of our Fulani pilgrims were defrauded in Madina, particularly those who came with the first flight,” he said.

The Amiru Hajj recalled that a few days back, the attention of the the government of Kwara State was drawn to a viral video clip showing one Mohammed Bello and a number of others, numbering about four.

“They alleged that right from home at General Tunde Idiagbon International Airport in Ilorin, they were given a dollar in five places as against 100 dollars in five places.

“One of them alleged that the board, through its accounting department, gave them five dollars as against 500 dollars.

“I make bold to say this allegation is far from the truth, because the same process that every pilgrim passed through, is the same process that I have passed through personally, being the Amir of the Hajj.

“The process is that every morning, operatives of the DSS check the accounting department, they search the accountants there to make sure they did not enter into their office with any counterfeit currency.

“They make sure they did not even go in there with any bag whatsoever. And at every point in time, this denomination of a hundred dollars, they count it one by one, place it on the table, and give to an individual pilgrim,” he said.

He said that what was given to each pilgrim from Kwara State was 100 dollars in five places, making a total of 500 dollars.

“But, apparently, when this video went viral, the governor immediately directed me to cause an investigation into the matter.

“I did in collaboration with the chairman of the board, the secretary, the SA religion, and a number of other principal officers of the board.

“Up to this hour, only 15 are serviced. And on the directive of the governor, we have refunded 500 dollars back to each of these 15 pilgrims that have been identified,” he said. (NAN)