Nigeria’s death toll in hajj stampede rises to 222

Ibrahim kana, an official of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, (NAHCON), on Monday confirmed that 222 Nigerians actually died during the stampede in Saudi Arabia.

Kana said majority of those who died had been buried, while 130 pilgrims are still missing.

Saleh Okenwa, NAHCON’s commissioner of planning and research, had earlier put the number at 199.

There have been controversies over the actual figure of those who died in the incident.

While Saudi authorities put the death toll at 769 pilgrims, some officials claim that over 1,000 people were killed in the worst disaster to have hit the annual pilgrimage in 25 years.