The authorities in the Rivers State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board says it has arrested five persons for impersonation and racketeering ahead the pilgrimage to Mecca later this year.

Sole Administrator of the board, Alhaji Sanni Sotonye Okiri, made the disclosure while reacting to allegations leveled against him and members of the board screening committee for aiding pilgrim racketeering in the agency last Wednesday.

Alhaji Okiri, described the petitions and allegations as unfounded and aimed to tarnish his image and that of the committee members.

Based on the petition written against Alhaji Okiri by one Mohammed Young-Jack to the Secretary to the State Government, the sole administrator and his screening committee members were alleged to be engaged in selling seats and forging names for pilgrimage yearly.

Young-Jack, who claimed to have written to the Governor over the matter last year said lots of non-indigenes are included in the exercise, since the board members sell slot to them and thereby denying Muslim indigenes opportunity to travel to the Holy land.

The Kalabari-born Muslim faithful, while lamenting how his name was removed from the list despite his nomination by Senator representing Rivers West, Wilson Ake, alleged that the board administrator and his committee members add fictitious names to make money from the scheme yearly.

But Alhaji Okiri described Young-Jack’s claims as diversionary and deceptive. He said, “no nominations come from us. We do not have the power to do so, it’s only the government that nominate pilgrims.”

He claimed that Young-Jack’s petition cannot be disconnected from the fact that he was disqualified due to the impersonation activities he has been conducting over the years.

With a new computer scheme set up to screen the names, he stated that so far five people have been handed over to the Anti-fraud Unit of the Police for further investigation, including the State Security Service (SSS).