Six of the 95,000 Nigerian pilgrims for this year’s hajj exercise perished in Saudi Arabia from cardiac arrest.
Dr. Usman Galadima, the leader of the Nigerian medical team for the pilgrimage, revealed this in Makkah on Saturday night during a pre-Arafat meeting with stakeholders.
Galadima stated in his presentation, “Vital Events as of 24/6/2023,” that the deceased pilgrims comprised two from Osun State, one from Kaduna, and one from Plateau.
He couldn’t immediately establish the whereabouts of the other two pilgrims.
He stated his staff has treated 15,860 pilgrims for musculoskeletal ailments, the common cold, gastric ulcers, hypertension, and malaria.
Over 100 other pilgrims, he noted, were referred to Saudi hospitals.
He advocated for tightening pre-hajj medical screening of prospective pilgrims and restricting travel for any pilgrims deemed unsuitable to travel, particularly the elderly and those suffering from chronic illnesses.
According to him, his team reported two miscarriages, one delivery, and seven pregnancies among the pilgrims, including two from Sokoto State and one each from Adamawa, Kwara, Yobe, Plateau, and Katsina.
Earlier, Alhaji Zikirullah Kunle Hassan, chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), stated that all 95,000 Nigerian pilgrims have been transported for the exercise.
“I want to thank President Bola (Ahmed) Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima for their guidance and support in a variety of ways.” “Our presence here today is made possible by their support and guidance on NAHCON leadership,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, the NAHCON began transporting pilgrims to Muna, some nine kilometers outside of Makkah, at midnight Sunday, from whence they will go to Mount Arafat on Tuesday morning.
Aliyu Abubakar Tanko, the coordinator of the NAHCON’s mobility committee, stated that this was done to ease pilgrim transportation and reduce traffic congestion.
He claimed that the Saudi government had taken precautions to ensure “zero or at least a minimal casualty figure when it becomes inevitable during the movement to and symbolic stoning of the devil, the Jamrah.”
Tanko urged pilgrims to strictly adhere to the Saudi Jamart master plan standards.
