Prof Attahiru Jega's Brother Die In Mecca Stampede

This is heartbreaking that Justice Abdulkadir Jega, the brother of the former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Attahiru Jega, has died in the stampede in Mecca. 

Vanguard reports that the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, made a statement on Saturday, September 26, in which he disclosed that two Court of Appeal Justices were among those who died during the stampede that led to the death of over 700 pilgrims at Mina.

‎The CJN gave the names of the deceased justices as Abdulkadir Jega who was the Presiding Justice of the Abuja Division of the appellate court and Justice Musa Hassan Alkali of the Ilorin Division‎.
Justice Mohammed expressed condolences to the families of the deceased, the Court of Appeal, the Judiciary and the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

Samaila Yombe, the deputy governor of Kebbi state, confirming the death of Abdulkadir Jega, adding that the judge was caught up in the tragedy while on his way to perform the ritual of stoning. 

Yombe stated that the Amirul Hajj and Emir of Argungu, Samaila Mera, speaker of the State House of Assembly and his deputy, Governor Atiku Bagudu’s family were among pilgrims who survived the incident.
Speaking about the tragedy, the deputy governor insisted that the incident at Jamra was not a stampede. 

“Whoever said it was a stampede either does not know the meaning of a stampede or he is not saying the truth. What actually happened was that the entire pilgrims scheduled to throw Jamrat at that time, were channeled to follow one particular street. 

“At a time, we got to a certain point at 8:00am, where military vehicle was set across to create a barrier. And then some of the Saudi soldiers were standing by, suggesting that, you cannot pass beyond that point. 

“About 5,000 people coming from same direction were not aware of the road in front, which resulted to a ‘sardining’ so to speak, which made it very difficult for us to even stand. So, we continued to squat to make room for fresh air while the temperature was about 47 degrees Celsius. 

“Pilgrims, in an effort to get fresh air, attempted to scale fences of tents on both sides of the road. Very few succeeded, while most people just succumbed to the situation.”