A Lagos resident who travelled on a holy pilgrimage to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the year 2024 annual Hajj pilgrimage, Oloshogbo Idris, has reportedly died on Tuesday.
According to the information made available to newsmen on Wednesday, the pilgrim gave up the ghost while eating, a few minutes after returning from the circumambulation of the Holy Kaaba in Makkah.
The secretary of Lagos State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, Mr. Saheed Onipede, who confirmed the incident in a statement by the Assistant Director of Public Affairs Unit of the ministry, on Wednesday, said the deceased passed on while eating shortly after returning from the Tawaf minutes after the first evening prayer.
Although the circumstances surrounding his death had yet to be medically ascertained at the time this report was filed, Onipede suggested that the death could not be unconnected with the stress the deceased went through during the Tawaf.
While extending the condolences of the state government to the immediate family and friends of the deceased, the secretary “pray that Allah would forgive his shortcomings and grant him Aljanat Fridaos as well as the reward of the Hajj, since he already had the intention”.
He appealed to other pilgrims “to exercise cautions and restrain from overstressing themselves before the commencement of the real Hajj rites which are yet to be fulfilled”.
The deceased was believed to have been buried according to the Islamic rites in Makkah in line with the laid down principles of Saudi Arabian authorities.
Tuesday’s incident is coming barely a week after the announcement by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) over the death of a female pilgrim from Kebbi State identified as Tawakaltu Aliko, who slumped in her hotel in Makkah.
NAHCON’s head of media operations, Muhammad Musa, said, “She (the deceased) was on her way to collect food in her hotel in Makkah when she suddenly slumped.
Prior to that, she was hale and hearty.
“We quickly rushed her to the hospital but she was already unconscious by the time we got there.
“Every other thing is going as we planned. From feeding to accommodation and medical care. But this sad occurrence came from God and is beyond our control”.
