The Jigawa State Pilgrims Welfare Board says it has secured a befitting accommodation for its intending pilgrims ahead of the 2025 Hajj exercise in Saudi Arabia.

This is contained in a statement by the Spokesman to the board, Malam Habibu Yusuf, on Monday in Dutse.

He said the board has successfully secured a befitting hotel accommodation, a walking distance of about 800 meters to the Holy Mosque in Makkah.

“This achievement is a testament to the board’s commitment of ensuring a seamless and enriching Hajj experience for Jigawa state pilgrims,” he said.

The statement quoted the Director-General of the board, Alhaji Ahmad Labbo, as urging the intenting pilgrims to ensure prompt deposit of the Hajj fare.

Labbo underscored the importance of early payment to facilitate proper planning of logistics for the pilgrimage.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the board fixed Jan. 30, registration deadline of intending pilgrims for the 2025 Hajj exercise.

This is in line with directives of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) for the state pilgrim’s welfare boards to remit all collections by Feb. 1.

NAHCON has allocated 1,518 seats to the state for 2025 Hajj, while the board had directed intending pilgrims from the state to pay N8.4 million Hajj fare.

The Military High Command has confirmed the killing of the son of Bello Turji, a notorious terrorist leader in a recent clearance operation on his stronghold on Fakai high ground in Zamfara.

This is contained in a statement by the Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, on Monday in Abuja.

Buba said the terrorist leader’s son was killed alongside scores of other terrorists during a coordinated operation between troops of Operation Fansan Yamma and the air component.

Buba added that the operation was conducted on Jan. 17, along Shinkafi, Kagara, Fakai, Moriki, Maiwa and Chindo axis.

According to him, the intensity of troops’ fire power resulted in high terrorist casualties and their logistics hub destroyed.

“The operations also resulted in the rescue of several kidnapped hostages held captive by Bello Turji.

“The terrorist leader, Bello Turji, in a gross cowardly act escaped abandoning his son and combatants,” he said.

Buba said the military also destroyed another terrorist kingpin camp known as Idi Mallam along Zango Kagara Forest, killing three terrorists and apprehend three suspected collaborators.

He noted that troops recovered two machine guns, one AK47 Rifle with a magazine containing 11 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition.

“Other things the troops recovered were 61 rustled cattle and 44 sheep among other sundry items.

“Troops are sustaining the onslaught against the terrorist.

“Overall, the troops continued to demonstrate commitment to the safety and protection of all citizens across the country,” he said.

The first 90 Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel under the terms of the Gaza ceasefire deal were freed hours after an agreement took effect on Sunday.

This is to halt the fighting that has devastated the coastal territory; local media cited Israeli authorities as confirming.

Local media outlets, including the Times of Israel, cited the prison authority as confirming the release, saying that most of the freed prisoners were women and minors.

The majority of the detainees came from the West Bank, while others were from East Jerusalem, according to the reports.

Palestinian media has showed the footage and pictures of what they said were released prisoners arriving in Ramallah.

On Sunday, the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas released the first three Israeli hostages as part of the ceasefire agreement.

They were transferred by the Palestinian militant group Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Sunday afternoon.

Among those transferred were three women, named by the Israeli military as Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher.

They were then transferred to Israeli forces and transported to a hospital in Tel Aviv, where they were greeted by family.

A Hamas spokesman had confirmed that four more Israeli hostages would be released next Saturday.

This will be part of the deal to exchange 33 hostages for 1,904 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails over the course of six weeks.

Following months of stalemate in the 15-month Gaza war, a three-stage ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas was brokered on Wednesday, capping months-long efforts by the U.S.

Others are; Egypt and Qatar to mediate between the warring parties.

The first stage of the ceasefire agreement also foresaw the Israeli military withdrawing from densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip.