No fewer than 140 members of the first batch of Lagos State Christian pilgrims who visited Jerusalem and the Kingdom of Jordan have returned, the state government has said.
According to a statement on Tuesday, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mr Oluseyi Whenu, received the pilgrims at the airport in Lagos.
The statement read, “The 140 members of the first batch of the joint 2021/ General 2022 Easter Pilgrims to the Holy Land of Israel and the Kingdom of Jordan have completed their spiritual exercise and returned to Nigeria on July 12, 2022.
“The pilgrims left Queen Alia International Airport Amman for Nigeria at about 5.59 /3.59 Amman and Lagos times respectively. They came back to Nigeria after spending seven days in the Holy Land, visiting several holy sites while they sought spiritual upliftment and heavenly impartation.
“Some of the sites visited include Shepherd’s field, the Nativity Church in Bethlehem, the Wailing wall in Jerusalem, Via Dolorosa, the Dome of the Church of Resurrection, Mount Zion, the sacred Dungeon in Jerusalem, Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Cana in Galilee where Christ turned water to wine and the Mount of Temptation in Jericho.”
The Director of Finance and Account, Lagos State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, Dr Samson Kilanko, who also received the pilgrims at the airport, stated that the second batch would be airlifted on Wednesday (today).
“I want to remind us that the first batch pilgrims of the joint 2021 General/2022 Easter pilgrims left the shores of Nigeria for the Holy Land on July 4, 2022, and the second batch is expected to be airlifted on Wednesday, July 13, 2022,” he said.
