BREAKING: Lagos APC Women Leader Ramota Bankole Dies After Performing Hajj In Saudi

The leader in the Lagos Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Ramota Bankole, has been pronounced dead after performing her Hajj rites in Saudi Arabia.

Bankole, who was Lagos APC former Welfare Secretary, was said to be among the pilgrims that dropped dead following excessive heat recorded in the holy land.

Death toll tops 1,000 after hajj marked by extreme heat: AFP tally

The death toll from this year’s hajj has exceeded 1,000, an AFP tally said on Thursday, more than half of them unregistered worshippers who performed the pilgrimage in extreme heat in Saudi Arabia.

The new deaths reported Thursday included 58 from Egypt, according to an Arab diplomat who provided a breakdown showing that of 658 Egyptians who passed away, 630 were unregistered pilgrims.

All told, around 10 countries have reported 1,081 deaths during the annual pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam which all Muslims with the means must complete at least once.

The figures have come via official statements or from diplomats working on their countries’ responses.

The hajj, whose timing is determined by the lunar Islamic calendar, fell again this year during the oven-like Saudi summer.

The national meteorological centre reported a high of 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 Fahrenheit) this week at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

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