The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has reduced the 95,000 slot given to Nigeria to 66,910, with effect from 2026. GISTSMATE MEDIA reports that Nigeria maintained the previous slot for three years. According to the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), the slash was due to the inability of Nigeria to utilise the previous slot during…
Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti and Head of the Council of Senior Scholars, Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh, has passed away at the age of 82. According to a statement from the Royal Court, the prominent cleric died in Riyadh on Tuesday morning. His funeral prayer will be held at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh…
France intends to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the UN General Assembly, President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday in hopes of bringing peace to the region, but the plan drew angry rebukes from Israel and the United States. Macron, who unveiled the decision on social media, published a letter sent to Palestinian Authority…
Prince Al-Waleed bin Khaled bin Talal Al Saud, popularly known as Saudi Arabia’s “Sleeping Prince,” has died at the age of 36, two decades after he fell into a coma following a car accident in London. According to TheSunUK, the royal, who suffered a brain haemorrhage in 2005 while studying at a military college in…
The body of late Alhaji Aminu Dantata has been buried at Al-Baqi Cemetery, following Jana’iza prayers after Magrib at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. Alhaji Dantata passed away on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, at the age of 94. In accordance with his wishes, he was laid to rest in Madinah. A delegation…
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior has announced a strict ban on taking photographs, videos or raising political and sectarian expressions at main Hajj sites. In a statement, the ministry emphasised that pilgrims are prohibited from taking photographs or recording videos within Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, Masjid an-Nabawi in Madinah, and at key Hajj locations including…
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced that the 2025 Arafah sermon will be broadcast live in 34 languages, including three major Nigerian languages of Hausa, Fulani, and Yoruba. The Chairman of the Edo Muslim Pilgrim Welfare Board, Musah Muhammad-Uduimoh, disclosed this on Sunday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). He…
Brig Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), disclosed on Wednesday that two individuals who ingested cocaine allegedly en route to Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj pilgrimage were recently arrested. Marwa, speaking at the opening of a meeting of the Ministerial Committee on Drug Use Control, said the…
Saudi Arabian authorities have barred renowned Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, from entering the country to perform this year’s Hajj. In a Facebook post on Monday, Sheikh Gumi revealed that although the Saudi government issued him a visa for Hajj, he was denied entry into Medina to begin his religious rites. “For some obvious reasons,…
Saudi Arabian authorities have reportedly apprehended two women alleged to be the wife and mother of Ado Aliero, one of Nigeria’s most feared bandit kingpins. This development is seen as a startling international twist to Nigeria’s fight against banditry. Sources familiar with the case revealed that the duo was picked up in an intelligence-led operation…