Amidst the ongoing bloody conflict between the State of Israel and Hamas militant group which has claimed hundreds of lives, the Federal Government has warned Nigerian pilgrims against making illegal and unauthorised trips while in the holy land.
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, Rev Yakubu Pam, handed down the admonition as the Lagos State authorities suspended the planned airlifting of pilgrims in the state on Monday.
Speaking at an orientation programme for the intending pilgrims for the last batch of the Easter pilgrimage to Israel and Jordan, Pam said any pilgrim who engaged in any illegal act would be deported.
“The commission would not hesitate to deport any pilgrim who plans to abscond during pilgrimage,’’ Pam warned.
The orientation programme for the intending pilgrims was held both in Abuja and Lagos, respectively and supervised by the Mobilization Department of the commission.
Pam assured intending consular and self-sponsored pilgrims that their safety remained a “top priority of the commission.’’
He further expressed optimism that the crisis in Israel would soon de-escalate and would afford the last batch of pilgrims the opportunity to visit Israel from Jordan.
Speaking on the security situation in Israel, the NCPC boss stated, “The current fragile security situation in Israel is majorly being felt in Southern Israel, which is not within our pilgrimage circle.’’
According to a statement signed by NCPC’s Head of Media and Public Relations, Celestine Toruka, the executive secretary disclosed that the pilgrims would commence their journey on Tuesday (today) and arrive in Amman, Jordan on Wednesday, where they would spend four days, before proceeding to Israel, “depending on the security situation by then.”
He explained that Jordan is blessed with a lot of biblical Holy sites which encapsulated the old testament while Israel represented the new testament thereby making the pilgrimage experience ‘a complete Bible.’
He hinted that the fifth batch of pilgrims currently undergoing pilgrimage in Israel had successfully crossed over to Amman, Jordan and would arrive in Nigeria on Monday (yesterday).
NCPC allays fear
The statement read, “The NCPC boss also revealed that he was reliably informed that some group of private pilgrims from Nigeria arrived in Israel on 9th October to begin their pilgrimage exercise.
He maintained that the current fragile security situation in Israel was majorly being felt in Southern Israel which is not within our pilgrimage circle.
‘’However, he assured them that their safety is of paramount concern to the commission and that their pilgrimage journey would commence on October 10, 2023 to arrive Amman, Jordan on October 11, 2023 where they are expected to spend about three to four days before proceeding to Israel, depending on the security situation of Israel by then.
‘’Rev. Pam cautioned the intending consular and self-sponsored intending pilgrims to desist from any negative tendencies that might affect the completion of their pilgrimage exercise. In his words, “The commission would not hesitate to deport any pilgrim who plans to abscond during pilgrimage.”
Against the backdrop of the crisis in Israel, the Lagos State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board has suspended the airlifting of the second batch of intending pilgrims to the conflict zone.
The airlifting was earlier scheduled for Tuesday (yesterday).
The Executive Secretary, LSCPWB, Mrs Florence Gbafe, said in a statement posted on the board’s Facebook page, that further information would be communicated to the intending pilgrims as and when due.
Gbafe said, “To all on the second batch of pilgrimage to Israel, kindly note that the pilgrimage is now on hold due to the war situation in Israel. Further information will be communicated as and when due, please.”
She added that the LSCPWB and the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission would announce a new date for the airlifting of the second batch of intending pilgrims in due course.
The executive secretary further stated that the Lagos State Government and the Federal Government would continue to prioritise the safety of all pilgrims to the holy land and would not expose Nigerians to any situation that will put their safety at risk.
While thanking God for the safety of the first batch of pilgrims from Lagos State who had already concluded their pilgrimage activities on Sunday, Gbafe said the pilgrims were expected to return to Nigeria later on Monday.
The Osun State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, said the state did not have pilgrims in Israel.
According to him, the next batch of pilgrims from the state would travel by December.
He said, “Osun does not have pilgrims in Israel presently. The next batch of pilgrims from Osun will travel by December this year.
A source close to the Ekiti State Christians Pilgrims Board hinted that the state had no plan to suspend the airlifting of pilgrims to Israel.
He said nothing unusual was happening in the Middle East country to warrant the suspension of the pilgrimage.
The source said, “There is no plan in Ekiti State for now to suspend taking pilgrims to Israel. Israel is operating its International airport, it is the local airports that Palestinians could use to access the country that were shut down to prevent such.
“At present, Ekiti State does not have pilgrims in Israel, the board is still looking at December. The preparation for now is towards the second week of December.
“Israel’s international airport is operating. At the international airport, landing takes place in the afternoon, you can’t land in the night,” he said.
The acting Executive Secretary of the Benue State Christian Welfare Board, Miss Yagba Iember, said the directive to suspend the pilgrimage will come from the national level.
She said that the state did not have any pilgrims in Israel at the moment, noting that the last time the state government sponsored pilgrims to Israel was in 2019.
“Since then, the government has not sponsored anyone, nor have we had individuals going through here. So, at the moment, we don’t have pilgrims in Israel and if there is going to be any suspension it has to come from the national headquarters in Abuja,’’ she clarified.
The Spokesman for Ogun State Pilgrims Welfare Board, Lateef Ositelu in a statement on Monday disclosed that the pilgrims from the state to the holy land would leave with other pilgrims on Tusday.
Ositelu said despite the ongoing hostility between Israel and Palestine, the state government had got sufficient reports which had declared the journey very safe.
Despite the assurances by the FG, a security expert, Patrick Agbambu, has demanded the cancellation of the pilgrimage, arguing that many cities in Israel might be targeted by Hamas.
He said, “My advice is to suspend the trip. As it is, the whole of Israel in the coming days will be a major target. Not just Southern Israel. If preparations have been made and they go there and die, will that be good? It will become unconventional warfare and many places will be targeted.”
Similarly, a security analyst, Timothy Avele called on the government to suspend the trip, adding that it was unwise to embark on such a journey.
“What kind of deadly risk is this? The government should immediately cancel or stop such trips at this time. If nine Americans have been killed in this conflict, what guarantees the safety of Nigerians going there? It’s not wise at this time to travel to Israel even as one of their most protected airports was hit today,” he stressed.
Isreal threatens siege
As the military confrontation between Israel and Hamas worsened on Monday, the Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, has ordered a “complete siege” on the Gaza Strip as the military pounded the Palestinian territory with air strikes.
According to AFP, Gallant gave the order in a video message, referring to the enclave that is overcrowded with 2.3 million people.
Gallant said “We are putting a complete siege on Gaza… No electricity, no food, no water, no gas — it’s all closed.”
Nearly 1,500 people have been killed in southern Israel since Hamas militants breached Israeli’s borders on Saturday, shooting people in the communities and towns near Gaza before Israeli security forces began fighting back.
An estimated 250 people were killed by Hamas gunmen at a music festival attended by young Israelis and foreigners near Kibbutz Reim, close to Gaza, according to an organisation that helped to recover the bodies.
“We are fighting animals and are acting accordingly,” Gallant said in Hebrew.
The Chief military spokesperson, Rear-Admiral Daniel Hagari, revealed that Israel has drafted a record 300,000 reservists in its response to a multi-front Hamas attack from Gaza and is “going on the offensive.”
Reuters reports that since Saturday’s surprise assault, Israeli aircraft have been pounding Gaza targets while its ground forces have battled to retake control of border villages and towns overrun by Palestinian gunmen.
Hagari noted that the control of those communities had been re-established but that isolated clashes continued as some gunmen remained active.
“We are now carrying out searches in all of the communities and clearing the area,” he said in a televised briefing.
Military officials had previously said that their focus was on securing Israel’s side of the border before carrying out any major escalation of the counter-offensive in Gaza.
Hagari said 300,000 reservists have been called up by the military since Saturday, a number suggesting preparations for a possible invasion – though any such plans have not been officially confirmed.
“We have never drafted so many reservists on such a scale. We are going on the offensive,’’ he noted.
Hagari confirmed media reports that 700 people had been killed on Israel’s side of the border, including 73 confirmed members of the security forces.
But he said Israel’s military had killed hundreds of Palestinian gunmen.
Meanwhile, the Arab League foreign ministers will meet Wednesday to discuss Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, the regional bloc announced.
Arabs meet
The extraordinary meeting in Eygpt’s capital, Cairo, will seek to find “avenues of political action at the Arab and international level”, as Israel keeps pounding targets in Gaza following Saturday’s attack, Arab League deputy Chief Hossam Zaki said in a statement.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had Saturday requested an emergency ministerial-level meeting of the Arab League over the latest Israeli escalation.
In a statement, the ministry said it had directed “its permanent delegation to the Arab League to request an emergency meeting of the League Council at the ministerial level.”
The development was reached over “the escalation of the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people,” it said.
The Moroccan Foreign Ministry had also called for an emergency Arab League meeting at the level of Arab foreign ministers for “consultation and coordination on the deterioration of the situation in the Gaza Strip and the outbreak of military actions targeting civilians.”
Intensive consultations are underway for the meeting to be held this week at the headquarters of the Arab League in Cairo, the ministry said in a statement.
