Due to health and safety concerns, the Lagos State Government has formally prohibited pregnant women from taking part in this year’s Hajj trip.
Olanrewaju Ibrahim Layode, the Commissioner for Home Affairs, made the statement in Badagry on Wednesday. He emphasized that pregnant women’s health is at serious risk due to the demanding nature of the journey.
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has directed State Muslim Pilgrims’ Welfare Boards not to register pregnant women for the journey, and Layode pointed out that the state’s action is in line with this direction.
Professor Abubakar Yagawal, NAHCON’s Commissioner for Planning, Research, Statistics, Information, and Library Services (PRSILS), reaffirmed the policy in support of the directive while discussing the pilgrimage’s preparations, which include setting up medical clinics in Makkah and Madinah and issuing Yellow Cards to states.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has stressed the need to make sure that only those who are medically healthy are permitted to embark on the pilgrimage, and Layode noted that the Lagos State Ministry of Home Affairs is likewise carrying out his directive.
“Those traveling to Makkah will start to travel by May,” stated Governor Sanwo-Olu at the Lagos House, Marina, during the First Family of Lagos State and Ministry of Home Affairs Eid-el-Fitr celebration. Please make sure your health is good. If you are ill, desist from flying for the 2025 Hajj; remain back and pray here in Nigeria.”
It is extremely risky and sensitive for pregnant women to perform the Hajj, according to the Commissioner for Home Affairs.
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The procedures are exacting. An expecting lady should not go through the Tawaf, Safa, or Marwah from Medina to Makkah. Since they were born in Saudi Arabia, it has nothing to do with style or naming a child after a prophet.
According to the commissioner, there have been cases where women have tried to conceal their pregnancies in order to participate in the pilgrimage in the past, with some reportedly presenting their husbands’ urine for medical examination.
The state government has implemented sophisticated medical screening procedures to stop these dishonest practices, such as stationing mobile diagnostic vans at screening locations that are capable of detecting tuberculosis and pregnancy.
