T he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday interrogated the Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Jalal Arabi, over alleged mismanagement of funds allocated for the 2024 Hajj exercise.
Arabi arrived at the EFCC headquarters in Jabi, Abuja, at around 10 am and was questioned for several hours by EFCC investigators. An insider, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter, informed our correspondent that Arabi’s questioning was prompted by multiple petitions filed against him.
The source revealed, “He was invited to the commission’s office to explain how his commission spent the N90 billion subsidy provided for the 2024 Hajj exercise. His invitation was a result of the petitions against the chairman and his management team to our office over the alleged mismanagement of funds in the commission, and the 2024 Hajj exercise, among others. The allegations he was asked to respond to date back to 2021 and not just the issue of the just-concluded exercise.”
The insider further disclosed that three directors from the commission—Director of Procurement, Director of Finance, and Director of Programmes—have also been invited to provide explanations regarding the issue.
When asked if Arabi would be detained or released, the source mentioned that the EFCC might not detain him. “He may not be detained but will be asked to return if needed. Presently, he is still being interrogated. The CEO has been invited, he has honoured the invitation, and he will go back. There is no reason to keep him in custody when he is already complying. The new EFCC is operating in accordance with international best practices.”
The spokesman for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, stated that he would get back to our correspondent on the matter but had not done so at the time of filing this report.
At a post-Hajj press conference in Abuja on Monday, the NAHCON chairman defended the utilization of the N90 billion Hajj subsidy, stating that each pilgrim received support of N1,637,369.87, except for those under the Hajj Savings Scheme who received more. He noted, “All registered intending pilgrims, except those on HSS, were required to pay a balance of N1,918,094.87 since the N90 billion was not sufficient to make up for the balance.”
In June, Niger State Governor Mohammed Bago called on the National Assembly to probe the N90 billion released by the Federal Government to subsidize the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage. He criticized NAHCON’s performance, saying, “The N90 billion subsidy paid by the Federal Government for the Hajj operation, with some states, including Niger, paying about billions of naira; there is a need for the National Assembly to probe the N90 billion the Federal Government released for the 2024 Hajj. It is ridiculous that pilgrims were given only $400 to take care of themselves for about 40 days despite the payment of N8 million by each pilgrim. The N90 billion would have made more impact if shared with states. The money is enough to run the Universal Basic Education budget for four years.”
On June 11, the House of Representatives resolved to set up an ad hoc committee to investigate NAHCON over the conduct of the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage. This resolution followed the adoption of a motion titled, “Urgent need to investigate the National Hajj Commission and the Federal Capital Territory Administration Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, their agents and sub-agents over shoddy arrangement and treatment of Nigerian pilgrims in the 2024 Hajj exercise,” moved by Mr. Mohammed Bio, representing Baruten/Kaiama Federal Constituency of Kwara State.
Bio emphasized the importance of the Hajj exercise as a key obligation for Muslims and one of the five pillars of Islam, lamenting that about 50,865 Muslim pilgrims across Nigeria were under the care of NAHCON in 2024. He noted that many of them were not adequately taken care of in terms of welfare, organization, guidance, and monitoring as expected.
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