Amid the ongoing clashes between Israel and Iran, the Federal Government, through the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), has declared that there will be no pilgrimage to Israel until the conflict between the country and its neighbours is resolved.
It stated that the security challenges in the country required that pilgrims from Nigeria avoid Israel to ensure safety.
The Executive Secretary of the commission, Stephen Adegbite, who made this known in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, stated that the country does not have any pilgrims in the conflict zone.
He disclosed this through a statement released and made available to newsmen on Tuesday by the Deputy Director and Head of Media and Public Relations, NCPC, Celestine Toruka.
Adegbite, while addressing circulating reports claiming that Nigerian pilgrims are currently in Israel for pilgrimage activities, refuted the claims.
He clarified that no Nigerian Christian pilgrims were in Israel, as the commission’s 2024 main pilgrimage exercise to Israel and Jordan concluded in March 2025.
“Given the ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran, which escalated on June 13, no Christian pilgrimage will occur in Israel until the crisis is resolved. The commission is closely monitoring the situation,” he said.
The NCPC is the statutory body responsible for coordinating Christian pilgrimages from Nigeria to Israel and other holy sites worldwide.
