YouNewsng Discover. Succeed. Enjoy
At least two other prominent Nigerians have been confirmed to be among the over 700 persons that died during Thursday’s stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia. They are Deputy Secretary General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Professor Tijjani El-Miskin and Hajiya Bilikisu Yusuf, a notable journalist and columnist.
Said by judiciary sources with knowledge of the development that the deceased justice, who was a member of the Kebbi State delegation to the hajj, lost his wife last year to an undisclosed kind of cancer.
At least 863 others were injured during the stampede that occurred near Mecca, when two large groups of pilgrims arrived together at a crossroads on their way to performing the “stoning of the devil” ritual at Jamarat.
Two Justices of the Court of Appeal are among the hundreds of pilgrims who died in the stampede in Saudi Arabia.
They are Justices Abdulkadir Abubakar Jega and Musa Hassan Alkali.
Justice Jega was the presiding Justice of Abuja division, while Justice Alkali was of the Ilorin division of the Court of Appeal.
It was learnt that they were in Saudi Arabia for the annual Holy Pilgrimage.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed has sent condolence messages to families of the two late judicial officers.
Media aide to the CJN, Ahurakah Isah said, in a statement issued Saturday evening, that the CJN commiserates, on behalf of the nation’s Judiciary, with “the Court of Appeal and the families of two Justices of the Court of Appeal who died during the unfortunate stampede last Thursday 24 September 2015 in Mina, Saudi Arabia while in the Holy Land to perform Hajj Pilgrimage.”
“The Chief Justice of Nigeria said the death of the revered jurists is not just a huge loss to the Judiciary ,but Nigeria in entirety, adding that both men of the Bench have contributed immensely to the development of our jurisprudence.
“The CJN, Justice Mohammed on behalf of the entire Judiciary in the country prayed the Almighty Allah to grant the soul of the departed Justices eternal rest and their families the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
“Justice Mohammed expressed his personal condolences to the immediate family and relations as well as friends and associates of the highly respected jurists who will be greatly missed by the entire judiciary.
“His Lordship urges members of the deceased families to be comforted by the knowledge that the departed jurists served their country with commitment, dedication and honesty.
“The CJN prays that Almighty Allah will receive their soul and grant them al-janah,” Isah said
