The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia has clarified why it cancelled the visa of all the 264 passengers who arrived in Jeddah from Nigeria.
Osun Defender reported on Monday that authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia cancelled the visa of the passengers who arrived Sunday, especially many who were visiting Saudi for Lesser Hajj.
The flights took off from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano on Sunday night and landed at King Abdul-Aziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
It was gathered that it was when the Nigerian embassy waded in that the Saudi authorities reduced the number of passengers that would be returned to 177 from 264.
A statement by the Embassy explained that the passengers did not fulfil the entry conditions for the Kingdom.
It noted that the applicable rules and regulations of Saudi Arabia were not met as they submitted incorrect information.
The statement partly reads: “The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Abuja would like to make a clarification about the media reports and Social Media releases concerning the deportation of Nigerian citizens at the point of entry into the Kingdom.
“The passengers whom were denied entry, and subsequently deported to their initial destinations, didn’t fulfill the entry conditions and requirements in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations of the Kingdom, as they submitted incorrect information to obtain a category of visa that doesn’t apply to them, which was discovered upon their arrival.
“The Royal Embassy would like to stress the importance of following the procedures and laws enacted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for all visitors. Furthermore, all passengers should review all the documents to determine their conformity with the conditions prior departing from their countries to the Kingdom. This procedure was not limited to Nigerian citizens only, but rather to citizens of other countries.”
Further findings revealed that the reason why their visas were cancelled was because the visas procured for the 264 passengers were obtained for participation in the Saudi African Summit and not for the holy pilgrimage of lesser Hajj.
Sodiq Yusuf is a trained media practitioner and journalist with considerable years of experience in print, broadcast, and digital journalism. His interests cover a wide range of causes in politics, governance, sports, community development, and good governance.
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