Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
As the war between Israel and Iran enters the fifth day, the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC) has doused the tension in Nigeria, saying that, no Nigerian is currently in Israel for the purposes of Christian Pilgrimage.
Recall that, annually, NCPC mobilizes Nigerian christian
pilgrims to holy sites in Israel, Turkey, Jordan, and other holy sites for the purposes of pilgrimage.
Spokesperson for the NCPC, Celestine Toruka, in a statement made available to Journalists, said the confirmation became necessary following some circulating media reports claiming that Nigerian pilgrims are currently in Israel for pilgrimage activities amidst the conflict that broke out between Israel and Iran.
He confirmed that the Commission’s 2024 Main Pilgrimage exercise to Israel and Jordan had concluded in March 2025, and all pilgrims have been successfully returned to Nigeria.
Toruka said that given the ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran, which escalated on June 13, 2025, the Executive Secretary of NCPC, Bishop Sunday Adegbite stated that no Christian pilgrimage will occur in Israel until the crisis is resolved, and that the Commission is closely monitoring the situation.
Bishop Adegbite dismissed reports of Nigerian pilgrims in Israel as false and unfounded, reiterating that NCPC is the statutory body responsible for coordinating Christian pilgrimages from Nigeria to Israel and other holy sites worldwide.