The Kwara State Muslim Pilgrims’ Welfare Board says it is investigating a recent incident involving some state pilgrims who were reportedly defrauded of their Basic Travel Allowance (BTA).
A statement by the Executive Secretary of the board, Abdul Salam Abdulkadir, on Sunday, said further investigations were ongoing to expose the criminals behind the act which occurred in Saudi Arabia during the just concluded haj exercise.
The board condemned the actions of those who preyed on the goodwill and vulnerability of the pilgrims and welcomed any credible information that may assist in bringing the culprits to book.
He disclosed that “every pilgrim was given their $500 BTA in five $100 bills in the public space and under the supervision of officials of the Directorate of State Security who ensured that the currency was original.
“Each pilgrim signed for the collection of their BTA after counting it in the presence of pilgrims’ board officials and the DSS.
“Upon seeing the viral video in which some of our pilgrims said they had received five one-dollar bills instead of the five one-hundred-dollar notes, our preliminary findings suggest that these incidents likely occurred after the pilgrims had arrived in Medina, Saudi Arabia.
“In several cases, the affected individuals, mostly elderly and not familiar with foreign currencies, had sought help from strangers to convert their funds into Saudi Riyals.”
Abdul Salam explained that the unscrupulous individuals apparently took advantage of their vulnerability by swapping $100 bills with $1 bills under the guise of assisting them with currency exchange.
The secretary said in response to the unfortunate development, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq graciously provided for each of the affected pilgrims to be given $500 to offset the losses they incurred and prayed Allah to reward his swift and compassionate intervention.
“Similarly, the Governor visited the Kwara pilgrims’ hotel in Mecca during which he extended financial support to all pilgrims to support their local expenses.”
The secretary said with the fraudulent currency swap having been reported among pilgrims from other states of the Federation, “we support the Central Bank of Nigeria’s proposal to replace cash disbursements of BTA with preloaded debit cards.
“This will enhance transparency, reduce the risk of theft or fraud, and ensure that all pilgrims, especially the elderly can manage their funds more securely,” the statement added.
