A female pilgrim from Kano State has heaved a sigh of relief when her missing bag containing Basic Travel Allowance, BTA and visa was found by a staff of the hotel she was lodged in Madinah, Saudi Arabia.

Hassana Aliyu, a pilgrim from Gezawa Local Government area of the state, said she lost the bag on Thursday as she was performing ablution.

Speaking Sunday to newsmen at Andalus Al-Masi, the hotel where she was lodged, Mrs Aliyu said she could not comprehend exactly how the bag went missing.

But, according to her, the bag must have slipped from her shoulder while she was trying to remove her Hijab while performing an ablution.

Giving the breakdown of the content of the bag, Mrs Aliyu said there was $700, SR23, a copy of her visa and some Nigerian currency that she did not know the exact amount.

She, however, expressed excitement over the recovery of the bag which she said she had already lost hope.

“I can’t explain how happy I am today. I already lost hope that the bag could not be recovered to me. But, to God be the Glory, I have got it back.

“I think I lost the bag while I trying to remove my Hijab as I was preparing to perform ablution. The bag is so small that it could have slipped from my shoulder unknowingly.

“I am very happy and grateful to everybody that contributed toward the recovery of this bag. I depend solely on it because it contains all my allowance and even the visa. If not recovered, I would have suffered a lot away from my home,” she said

Speaking during the handover of the bag to the owner at the hotel, Head of Civic Education of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, Umar Bala said they were informed of the recovery of the bag by the hotel management.

He said the management told the officials that the bag was found at a second floor by one of its staff while on cleaning services.

According to him, on seeing the bag, he took it to the management of the hotel, where they swiftly contacted the NAHCON officials.

He explained that, on receiving the report, the NAHCON officials began searching for the owner until she was found on Saturday.

He thanked the management of the hotel for their honesty and transparency for recovery of missing belongings of some pilgrims, adding that was the second time the incident had occurred in the hotel this year’s Hajj.
Mr Bala however cautioned the pilgrims on taking good care of their belongings against loss.