A Pilgrim who evaded the mandatory medical screening in Nigeria has given birth to a baby boy at a Saudi Arabian Hospital in Makkah.
Dr. Abubakar Ismail, the head of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) Medical Mission for the 2024 Hajj in Saudi Arabia, made the disclosure.
According to Ismail, the 30-year-old Pilgrim is from Borno State.
He said the National Medical Team received a report on the development from the Borno State Medical Team saying the Woman evaded the Screening.
According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the pilgrim arrived at the Hospital’s emergency room after experiencing labour pains at 31 weeks of the pregnancy.
The emergency team swiftly assessed her condition and transferred her to the maternity ward, where she gave birth to a male child naturally.
While the mother is recovering, the baby named Mohammad is receiving special care, being premature, SPA said.
The Saudi Gazzet reported that this marks the first birth by a Pilgrim during the 2024 Hajj Season.
Despite the subsisting policy of the NAHCON which restricts pregnant Women from traveling for Hajj, the cases of delivery during the annual pilgrimage season by the Nigerian Pilgrims have continued unabated.
NAHCON says Nigeria recorded 75 cases of pregnant women who traveled to Saudi Arabia for the 2023 Hajj after bypassing the statutory recommendations, which ended with various medical complications occasioned by stress and the heatwaves.
Meanwhile, the Kebbi Pilgrims Welfare Board on Monday announced the death of another pilgrim in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Spokesperson to the state governor Ahmed Idris in a statement gave the name of the deceased as Abubakar Abdullahi from Gulma town in Argungu Local Government Area.
Idris said that the pilgrim died after a brief illness.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reported that Abdullahi is the third Kebbi Pilgrim to die in the holy land.
The state governor Nasir Idris expressed shock over the death and prayed to God to grant the deceased eternal rest.
