By: Jabiru Hassan.

A faith-based registered civil society organisation, Independent Hajj Reporters (IHR), has renewed its call on the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), State Muslim Pilgrims Boards to refund excess payments made by more than 44,000 Nigerian pilgrims during the 2025 Hajj exercise. 

The group said each pilgrim is entitled to an average refund of about ₦400,000 to ₦437,000, following a discrepancy between the exchange rate used to calculate the 2025 Hajj fare and the actual rate at which service payments were made. 

In a statement signed by its National Coordinator Ibrahim Muhammad on Monday, IHR said, “Now that the 2026 Hajj is about to begins and 2025 Hajj accounts reconciliations has been completed, NAHCON should initiate prompt refund of the excess amount paid by 2025 Hajj pilgrims who registered before the official deadline.

”The 2025 Hajj fare was pegged using an exchange rate of ₦1,600 per dollar, resulting in northern pilgrims being charged $4,704.18 and their southern counterparts $4,908.18, leading to overall costs exceeding ₦8 million.  

However, by the time NAHCON made payments for services between February 13 and 15, the official exchange rate had fallen to ₦1,507–₦1,520 per dollar, leaving an unspent balance of about ₦80,000–₦93 per dollar per pilgrim.

IHR said that the exchange rates throughout February and March did not exceed N1,507 – N1,535 when the entire hajj service payments were made.  

IHR estimates that ₦437,000 is due to about 44,000 pilgrims who paid in full before the February 10 deadline.  

The group also noted that NAHCON had previously acknowledged the possibility of refunds, stating it would act after the completion of the 2025 Hajj reconciliations.

Now that NAHCON and States’ Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards has reconciled the 2025 hajj operational accounts, IHR is urging immediate action. 

“We understand that the 2025 Hajj fare was computed using higher estimated rates to avoid the possibility of asking pilgrims to pay more.

The payment for services was eventually affected with a lower exchange rate below the projected sum”. 

“Other countries where overpayments occurred have already refunded their pilgrims. Nigeria should do the same as a mark of transparency and accountability,” the statement read.  

The group emphasised that the refund would help the affected pilgrims recover part of their expenses, especially given the economic challenges many faced in performing the pilgrimage. 

IHR further urged NAHCON and the State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards to jointly process the refunds and ensure timely disbursement to all eligible pilgrims.