Civil society urges security agencies to probe threat to 2017 hajj

Security agencies have been urged to investigate a  service provider who threatened to stop Nigerian hajj operation this year. 

Independent Hajj Reporters, a civil society organisation, made this call Sunday in a statement by its national coordinator Ibrahim Muhammed and publicity secretary, Abubakar Mahmoud.

"We view the threat made by one Ibrahim Suleiman Yusuf to institute a court process to stop the performance of 2017 hajj with a serious concern. As reported by some national dailies last week, one Ibrahim Suleiman has called a press conference in Kano where he made a threat to “sue the federal government, leadership of hajj commission with a view to stop the performance of 2017 hajj unless his petition against the leadership of hajj commission in the House of Representatives is decided in his favour,” the civil society said.

"We are therefore using this medium to call on relevant security agencies to immediately invite him for questioning. His outbursts are serious threat that can activate serious security challenges if appropriate reprimand action is not taken. No one has ever made such threat of attempting to halt the performance of Muslim religious obligation of performing hajj," the statement said.

The civil society however said "while we acknowledged his right to express his misgivings via the petition, we equally condemned his careless threat to stop Muslims from performing hajj simply because of his business interests."

"We expected the Arewa Foundation chairman to have awaited the outcome of his petition in the House of Representatives, rather than engaged in act of blackmailing the entire Muslims of stopping 2017 hajj.

"As stakeholders with surveillance function over Hajj affairs in country, we know that the said Ibrahim Suleiman has been an accommodation agent to Kano state pilgrims. We equally know that he owned a cargo company called Taura Cargo. We are appalled that despite the fact that he has benefited immensely from hajj in the past, he is now willing to stop what Almighty Allah has decreed because his company was alleged to have failed to meet the criteria set to offer service to pilgrims this year hajj," Independent Hajj Reporters said.