Echoes of Hajj: NDLEA warns about hajj sponsorship
Investigation reveals many pilgrims are unknowingly drawn into trafficking networks through deception and false sponsorship schemes
By Abdullahi Yusuf
A national radio programme focused on Hajj preparation in Nigeria has heard stark warnings from the country’s drug enforcement agency about the growing use of pilgrims as unwitting couriers in international drug trafficking operations, including schemes that can end in long prison sentences or even the death penalty abroad.
The programme, Echoes of Hajj, is broadcast in Abuja and across neighbouring states in collaboration with PEACE Magazine and Citizens FM 93.7. It is designed as a daily public enlightenment platform for intending pilgrims, combining religious guidance with practical travel advice ahead of the 2026 Hajj season.
Each edition brings together Islamic scholars, Hajj officials, airline representatives, health experts, and security agencies to walk listeners through the logistics, rituals and risks associated with the pilgrimage from airport procedures to prohibited items under Saudi law.
On this episode, the guest was Mallam Usman Ali Wada, Deputy Director of Operations and General Investigations at Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). He issued an unambiguous warning: drug trafficking cases involving pilgrims are treated as strict liability offences in many jurisdictions, meaning intent is irrelevant once drugs are found in a traveller’s possession.
“Once you are caught, strictly the law will apply. There is no negotiation,” he said during the broadcast, urging pilgrims to avoid any involvement in suspicious travel arrangements or luggage handling schemes.
He highlighted a disturbing trend involving what officials describe as “free sponsorship” offers, in which unsuspecting women are recruited under the pretence of fully funded travel, only to be used as couriers for concealed narcotics.
One case cited during the interview involved three Nigerian women allegedly trafficked through Lagos and Kano before being arrested in Jeddah after drugs were discovered in their luggage. Each bag reportedly contained around 2.5 kilograms of cocaine hidden in specially modified suitcases.
According to the NDLEA official, Nigerian authorities were later able to establish that the women were unaware of the contents of the bags. Following diplomatic and investigative intervention, they avoided the death penalty but were still sentenced to imprisonment under Saudi law. “That case should serve as a permanent warning,” he said. “People are being deceived, and by the time they realise, it is already too late.”
The programme also examined how airport systems can be exploited through collusion involving excess baggage allowances. Officials warned that some baggage handlers and syndicates allegedly tag additional luggage onto unsuspecting passengers, exposing them to prosecution abroad.
Pilgrims were urged to personally handle their luggage from start to finish, verify baggage tags against boarding passes, and reject assistance from strangers offering to carry or transport items through airports. “You must be the one who packs your bag,” the NDLEA official said. “Do not accept gifts or items from people you do not trust. Even those you know must be treated with caution.”
The broadcast further detailed operational advice for pilgrims, including the importance of using original packaging for prescribed medication and carrying medical documentation for any controlled substances.
Mallam Wada explained that drugs such as Tramadol and other prescription medicines are permitted only when accompanied by a doctor’s report and kept in original packaging, warning that failure to comply could result in detention abroad.
He listed strictly prohibited substances under international and Saudi law, including cocaine, heroin, cannabis and other narcotics, adding that enforcement at Nigerian airports is increasingly supported by sniffer dogs and advanced scanning technology. “Even if it passes here, it may not pass in Saudi Arabia,” he warned. “Their systems are more advanced, and penalties are far more severe.”
Echoes of Hajj, according to its producers, is designed not only to guide pilgrims through the rituals of pilgrimage but also to protect them from legal, security and health risks before departure.
Nigeria remains a key departure point for West African pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia for Hajj and Umrah. Over recent years, security agencies have intensified screening at airports amid repeated cases of drug trafficking involving unsuspecting travellers, often linked to transnational criminal syndicates exploiting religious travel arrangements. The NDLEA has consistently warned that drug offences abroad, particularly in Gulf States, carry some of the harshest penalties globally, including lengthy imprisonment and, in some cases, capital punishment.
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