NAHCON: 13 Nigerians died during hajj in Saudi Arabia

Hammed Shittu in Makkah 

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has said that 13 intending pilgrims from Nigeria lost their lives while performing the just concluded Hajj in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Head of the Medical Team of NAHCON, Dr. Usman Galadima, disclosed this to journalists Monday during the post Arafat briefing in Makkah with the Hajj stakeholders.

He said: “Seven of the victims died before Arafat, six died post Arafat (four in Arafat, two in Mina).

 “Three of the dead victims were from the private tour operators, while two each were from Kaduna and Osun States.

“Plateau, Borno, Yobe, FCT, Benue and Lagos States recorded one death each.

“The post Arafat figure for this year is higher than the combined figures of 2022 (two) and 2018 (two). 

“The figure is the same as that of 2019, while it is higher than the post Arafat figures of 2016 and 2017 when three deaths were recorded each.”

According to him, a total of 25,722 pilgrims were treated by the medical team throughout the post-Arafat period out of which the men were 10,454 and women were 15,268.

“There were 93 emergency cases out of which there were seven heat strokes, 22 severe malaria, seven DM emergencies and five psychiatric cases.

“There were also three reported cases of chicken pox, which the doctor said were all taken out of Mina to the hospital in Makkah to avoid contagion,” he stated.

Galadima also reported that two cases of deliveries by pregnant women, one on the roadside and another one in one of the NAHCON medical facilities.

He advised that elderly pilgrims should stop going to Jamarat, while all pilgrims should use the train service to access the place. 

He added that medical screening at state levels should be scaled up to stop medically unfit pilgrims from coming for Hajj.