The Hajj Commission on Sunday night said 54 Nigerians had been confirmed dead. But many others are still missing.

It emerged yesterday that more high profile persons died in the stampede, with the announcement that Niger State lost its Accountant General, Alhaji Shehu Kontagora. A member of the Katsina State House of Assembly, Mr. Faisal Musa, also died.

A statement by the Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said the president was very concerned that days after the unfortunate incident, some Nigerian families are still grappling with painful uncertainty over the fate of their relatives who travelled to Saudi Arabia for this year’s Hajj.

He expected the National Hajj Commission to work with the various state pilgrim boards, Islamic organizations and private travel agencies involved in hajj operations to speedily provide a confirmed and verifiable report on the status of every Nigerian pilgrim in Saudi Arabia.

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