MAKKAH, 12 March — Many stranded Nigerian pilgrims have returned to their country during the past two days after the Haj Ministry intervened to resolve their problem. Nigeria Airways and Kabo Air operated more than 15 flights to transport the pilgrims. Deputy Haj Minister Hatem Qadi told Al-Riyadh Arabic newspaper that the pilgrims were left stranded in the Kingdom when Kabo Air, a private airline, failed to operate scheduled Haj flights. The pilgrims protested the delay in flights by squatting on the road in front of their Makkah accommodation. The ministry held continuous meetings with Nigerian Embassy officials as well as the chairman of Kabo Air to find quick solution to the problem. Kabo Air operated five flights on Saturday — three from Jeddah and two from Madinah — to carry 1,200 Nigerian pilgrims, Al-Riyadh reported. It also operated five flights on Sunday. Around 70,000 Nigerians perfromed Haj this year and more than 24,000 of them have already left the Kingdom.