Hajj 2019: NAHCON confirms death of Katsina pilgrim

The Chairman, Medical Committee, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Dr Ibrahim Kana, has confirmed the death of a female pilgrim from Katsina State in Makkah. Reacting to inquiries from Daily Trust’s correspondent in Madinah, Dr Kana,  said the late pilgrim died probably from myocardial infarction which is secondary to hypertensive heart disease. He said […]

The Chairman, Medical Committee, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Dr Ibrahim Kana, has confirmed the death of a female pilgrim from Katsina State in Makkah.

Reacting to inquiries from Daily Trust’s correspondent in Madinah, Dr Kana,  said the late pilgrim died probably from myocardial infarction which is secondary to hypertensive heart disease.

He said the deceased who died in her sleep was discovered by room mates early this morning before his team were involved and medically certified her dead.

Dr Kana, who said her body had been moved to the mortuary and then prepared for burial accordingly based on instructions from the medical committee, added that “we usually conduct verbal autopsy on pilgrims who die under such circumstances.”

Meanwhile, over 6000 Nigerian pilgrims have so far left the City Madinah for Makkah to perform ‘Umrah before the obligatory Hajj, the Head of Accommodation, NAHCON in Madinah, Alhaji Gana Wali, has said.

Alhaji Wali, who said this on Tuesday in an interview with journalists, stated that the process for the provision of accommodation for the pilgrims had been very smooth.

He said the appointment of House Managers for all hotels who were responsible for the welfare of the pilgrims had eased the task as the challenges facing the guests of Allah were channeled to the appropriate quarters for prompt solutions.

Wali, who said the pilgrims enjoyed free WiFi apart from basic facilities in the hotels, added that every NAHCON staff was given the responsibility to enlighten them on how to use the facilities.

He attributed pilgrims heavy luggage and lack of cooperation from State officials as the challenges facing the accommodation team.

Currently 18,095 Nigerian pilgrims had been airlifted to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 37 flights for Hajj and ‘Umrah’ (lesser Hajj).

The pilgrims are from 16 States, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Yobe, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Gombe, Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Kwara, Kogi, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Lagos.