Kebbi pilgrims have until 1 December to pay for 2027 Hajj visas. The Houthis claimed strikes on Riyadh’s airport on Monday.

Faruk Aliyu Yaro Enabo chairs the Kebbi State Pilgrims Welfare Agency. On 28 June he told intending pilgrims they have until 1 December to complete the payments and documentation required for their Saudi visas for the 2027 Hajj. The first payment window closed on 30 July. Governor Nasir Idris approved an initial deposit of N5 million, and Enabo said those who could would pay the full fare of N7 million. Saudi authorities approved 50,000 Nigerian pilgrims for the 2026 Hajj, and Enabo said no deaths were recorded among Kebbi’s 4,256 pilgrims.

On Monday the Houthis claimed they had targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and an Aramco refinery at Rabigh, the Associated Press reported. They said they used ballistic and cruise missiles and drones. Separately, AFP reporters and residents heard explosions in Riyadh late that night. Saudi-backed Yemeni forces launched an offensive that day under coalition air cover. The US embassy in Riyadh warned American citizens to be vigilant about possible drone and missile attacks.

Riyadh has had alerts before. On 19 September Saudi authorities sounded the first air raid alert in the capital since fighting with the Houthis resumed in July. A fuel tank near the airport burned, and flights were disrupted.

The Saudi-led coalition also said the Houthis attacked an electricity station in Madinah on 29 September. It said the station supplies the Prophet’s Mosque, one transformer went out of service and the network was unaffected. The Houthis denied the accusation.

Two months earlier, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission and Al Yaro International held a Nigeria-Saudi investment and tourism summit in Abuja on 4 and 5 August. NiDCOM’s secretary, Sule Bassi, said it was meant to strengthen collaboration between Nigerians living in Saudi Arabia and stakeholders in both countries. Organisers expected more than 5,000 visitors.

On 1 October the National Hajj Commission said Saudi Arabia had approved 10,000 more slots, raising Nigeria’s 2027 quota from 50,000 to 60,000, Blueprint reported. Its report of the statement does not mention the fighting. The commission had set 26 September as the deadline for uploading pilgrims’ data to Saudi Arabia’s Nusuk-Masar platform, and another payment deadline falls in December.

The deposits and the deadlines are set. No state pilgrims board has been reported changing its dates.