2 Nigerian pilgrims ditch pilgrimage, announced missing

Two members of the Plateau pilgrimage contingent have been reported to be missing, the Acting Secretary of the state Pilgrims Board, has revealed.

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Mrs Hassana Ayika, in Nazareth, Israel, on Wednesday, revealed that the two persons, a man and a woman, were said to have gone missing at about 2 a.m. on Tuesday.

Vanguard reports that the roommates of the missing couple reported that they woke up in the night and did not find them on their beds, suggesting that they may have absconded.

Mrs Ayika said that the matter had been reported to the Israeli authorities through the Nigerian Embassy and that efforts were being made to track and repatriate them.

She went on to reveal that their guarantors would be punished accordingly as they would be made to bear the cost of sending them back to Nigeria.

Ayika also explained that the escapees were not Plateau indigenes but from other states and were fortunate to have enjoyed the sponsorship of the state government.

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She explained in statement saying:

“It is not the first time that the Plateau Government is sponsoring non-indigenes but it is unfortunate that this kindness is being abused.

“By what this people have done, we have broken the law of the State of Israel and their guarantors will be punished appropriately.’’