Health
Nurse accuses hospital over wife’s death, he is Jehovah’s witness, refused blood transmission -management
A registered nurse anaesthetist, Prince Ovwiomodiowho, has accused a private hospital in Lagos State, R Jolad Hospital, Agege, of alleged negligence and failure to provide adequate care, which reportedly led to the death of his wife, Loveth and unborn son, already named Jason.
The distraught man said that his late wife started ante-natal at the hospital in 2023 but reportedly bled to death on March 8, 2024, shortly after undergoing a caesarean section.
Ovwiomodiowho insisted that the lack of a competent surgical team and equipment were factors that contributed to the untimely death of his wife and baby.
He lamented that long hours of induction led to the rupture of his late wife’s uterus, causing heavy bleeding.
Recounting the traumatic events that unfolded during his wife’s stay at the private hospital, Ovwiomodiowho said, “I have been in despair, unimaginable trauma, prolonged pain and unending sorrow since March 8, 2024, following the gruesome murder of my precious wife Loveth and innocent son, Jason.
“My wife had no surgical and medical history; she was their patient from the start of the pregnancy. All her labs, vitals and scans were normal, and her packed cell volume before delivery was 39 per cent.
“The doctor in charge, Marcus, prescribed the induction from midnight and said there was no clear indication for a C/Section. I objected to the midnight induction but he insisted it was the hospital protocol.
“Marcus commenced induction with Misoprostol twice under the watch of his junior doctors and midwife. They claimed Misoprostol induction failed and my wife was not contracting and also claimed her cervix was ripped for another type of induction with oxytocin, which they commenced.
“After 10 hours of aggressive prolonged induction with cervical dilatation only reaching 6cm, her uterus was hyperstimulated until it busted (She had ruptured uterus) and started active silent bleeding.”
Ovwiomodiowho said the hospital claimed not to be aware that his wife was bleeding until she collapsed, started gasping for air, started foaming from the mouth and later, became unconscious.
He further said, “My wife was bleeding and the hospital claimed they were not aware until she collapsed and started gasping for air with extremely low blood pressure and severely compromised vital signs.
“She needed active resuscitation, immediate caesarian section and exploratory laparotomy but once again, the hospital had no surgeon, no anaesthetist, and no paediatrician (No surgical team) in place for the surgery.
“Major surgical and resuscitation equipment was not available. There was no reliable oxygen system, no laryngoscope and no fictional ventilator. She was left to breathe by herself via an endotracheal tube during surgery.”
“There was no electricity throughout the surgery. At some points, they were using phone torchlight for surgery. Due to the unimaginable and gross incompetence of the surgical team, haemostasis could not be secured; she was bleeding from multiple bleeders. My wife and son eventually bled to death, and the theatre floor was a river of blood despite various colloids that were infused. Imagine leaving with the horror of the scene.
“The death certificate of my wife says she suffered a ruptured uterus with massive uterine haemorrhage.”
He also claimed that efforts to get his late wife’s uterus, which was removed during the surgery were not successful.
“My wife’s uterus (womb) was removed during surgery and the hospital has refused to give me the specimen despite multiple requests. I don’t know if they are planning to sell it or if they are deliberately trying to make the autopsy inconclusive.
“The hospital has also refused to give me the placenta. It is only the corpse of my wife and son that was handed over.
“I have reported the incident to the Health Facilities Monitoring and Accreditation Agency, Commissioner of Health and Permanent Secretary in Lagos, and I am waiting for their responses,” he said.
While arguing that the death of his wife and son was avoidable and unnecessary, the aggrieved nurse said it was “a deliberate act of reckless manslaughter.”
He lamented, “How can an obstetrician and gynaecologist be in another facility and still hell-bent on inducing my wife under the watch of his staff from 12 am till 10 am until her uterus gave way? It ruptured without any O&G consultant available to review it.
“The consultant provoked massive torrential bleeding and both he and his team claimed they had no clue as to why my wife, who was their patient was bleeding and was racing into hypovolaemic shock.
“Even when she eventually suffered a total cardiovascular collapse in labour, became unconscious and needed intensive care, immediate Ex lap with an emergency caesarian section, she was denied early surgical intervention until she suffered hypoxic brain injury.
“It took over three hours for the intensivist to start attending to her and over two hours for the O&G consultant to commence surgery, the paediatrician never came.”He added, “During this unbearable waiting time for the surgeon to show up, I was forced to commence active resuscitation on my wife because the team on the ground was in deep confusion and panic.
“Finally, they arranged a grossly incompetent surgical team that could not secure bleeding despite infusions of colloids and crystalloids, causing traumatic death of both mother and baby.”
The nurse also accused the hospital management of deepening his pain and loss by subjecting him to all manner of inhumane treatment and intimidation.
He lamented, “In my unwavering quest to seek justice just because the hospital has seen I don’t have money, I have been subjected to intimidation and frustrations.”
The grieving father said he is at a loss as to how to reply his four-year-old daughter, who has been asking for her mother.
“She has been asking for her mom and I still don’t know what to tell her,” he said with tears cascading down his face.
Hospital denies negligence, blames husband for wife’s death
When contacted the management of R Jolad Hospital, they denied alleged negligence and complicity in the death of the woman.
The hospital insisted that everything medically necessary was done to save Ovwiomodiowho’s wife and son.
Speaking in a virtual meeting attended by the hospital’s Medical Director Abiola Fashina; Chief Operating Officer, Mr Soji Osunsedo, and the Marketing and Brand communications manager, Ifeoluwapo Ilesanmi on April 26, 2024, our correspondent was told by the Managing Director, Dr Funsho Oladipo, that standard protocols and procedures required for care during labour were provided.
While admitting that the wife lost a lot of blood during delivery, he blamed Ovwiomodiowho’s religious belief against blood transmission for the unfortunate death, noting that blood was not given to the woman after the surgery.
He explained, “Between you and I, we know that in childbirth, one important thing that can happen and throw everybody into a panic state, but which can still be remedied, is blood loss. And when there’s blood loss, you have to replace it, especially if the loss is much. There’s nothing that replaces blood.
“But we had been given a strict instruction against blood transfusion because Prince and his family belong to the Jehovah’s Witness religious group and they don’t allow blood transmission.
“And this, you know and I know, everybody knows that if so much blood is lost and no replacement, there’s nothing one can do.
“So, the question of not having adequate manpower to take care of what the wife had is not true.
“The hospital is well equipped with personnel and other things; we have consultant gynaecologists and other professionals. It’s very unfortunate that this happened because we have always provided care to the best of our knowledge and best of practice.
“And such a scenario has never happened in the hospital for the period that we’ve been running it.
“The hospital is a source of joy to many homes, taking care of the needs of the people, the poor and the rich.”
When asked if the hospital used torchlight during surgery, Oladipo noted, “I have just told you the main reason why this loss occurred. I mean, it’s just like Panadol would take care of your headache and if you refuse to take Panadol, the headache will still be there. It’s just simple and very unfortunate.”
On the allegations that the hospital did not release the placenta and ruptured uterus, the hospital Managing Director explained, “If the corpse was alleged to have been kept by us, then we agreed that the uterus and the placenta were also with us.
“You see, it was so bad, we had to put the placenta, the uterus, we had to wrap everything neatly together because they did not want to take the corpse that night. They came so many hours after the incident to take the corpse. And everything was wrapped with the placenta, the resected uterus and the corpse, and we gave it to them.”
The Enugu State Government says there is no confirmed case of diphtheria in the state, urging residents to disapprove unfounded ongoing rumours.
The Commissioner for Health, Prof George Ugwu, made the clarification in a briefing on Wednesday in Enugu on update on the rumoured suspected case of a diphtheria patient in University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku/Ozalla, Enugu.
“In response to this, the Public health and Surveillance unit of the State Ministry of Health are already at alert and to ensure appropriate prevention control measure and early detection as may be necessary.
“A few days ago, there was a report of suspected case of diphtheria at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu which was followed by our team.
“However, the diagnosis of diphtheria could not be sustained or confirmed; while the patient, wito was rumoured and suspected to have diphtheria,
had tonsillitis,” he said.
The commissioner noted that accordingly, contact traces and other appropriate measures are ongoing and “yet diphtheria are not diagnosed or confirmed in the state.”
He explained that the suspected patient had been traced to his home in Achara Layout in Enugu and he did not have any record of travel and had not being to the northern part of the country as rumoured.
“Our surveillance and tracing teams have also contacted his family members and others but no trace of diphtheria established,” he said.
Ugwu noted that although the state had remained on high alert against infectious diseases, “Enugu State is never at high risk of contacting diphtheria”.
“For the state, we have a robust routine and mop up vaccination especially on Penta 3, which provides effective immunisation against diphtheria for a whole life time.
“In 2026 Vaccination, we had 91 per cent record of coverage on Penta 3 vaccination, which is even above the national target or threshold,” he said.
The commissioner urged residents to remain calm and avoid spreading rumours or unverified information as well as seek medical attention promptly if they develop symptoms of any sickness.
He said, “The ministry is calling on parents and caregivers to ensure children are fully immunised with diphtheria containing vaccines (Penta 3).
“Residents are urged to follow the advice of health authorities during contact tracing and monitoring.
“Healthcare workers are urged to maintain appropriate standard precautions, promptly notify suspected cases through the surveillance system and ensure appropriate infection prevention and control measures.
“The Enugu State Ministry of Health, in collaboration with UNTH and relevant international partners, continues to monitor the situation and will be proactive for further information as necessary,” he added.
It would be recalled that there is an outbreak of diphtheria in Nigeria and 19,799 suspected cases sent to molecular laboratory test; with 15,309 confirmed cases and 517 confirmed death across 26 states and 357 Local Government Areas.
The worst affected states accounting for over 98 per cent cases of diphtheria are Kano, Bauchi, Borno, Kastin, Sokato, Zamfara, Kaduna and Plateau according to Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).
Diphtheria is a serious but vaccine preventable bacterial disease that can spread though respiratory droplets and close contact.
Symptoms of Diphtheria include: fever, sore throat, difficulty or pain when swallowing, cough, difficulty breathing, swelling of the neck and greyish/white membrane in the throat.
The University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu State, has urged patients, visitors and members of the public to remain calm following the management of a clinically suspected case of diphtheria at the hospital.
The reassurance followed concerns over the admission and subsequent death of a paediatric patient at the hospital’s Children’s Emergency Room (CHER).
According to a statement issued by the hospital management on Wednesday, the patient received medical intervention immediately after admission but died two days later despite efforts by the attending medical team.
The hospital said a subsequent clinical post-mortem review suggested that the severe symptoms may have been caused by severe pharyngotonsillitis with massive exudate, rather than diphtheria as initially suspected.
However, as a precautionary measure, UNTH said comprehensive contact tracing had commenced to identify and monitor individuals who may have had close contact with the deceased.
The hospital also confirmed that the Children’s Emergency Room had undergone standard decontamination in line with established infection prevention and control protocols.
UNTH said it had previously managed sporadic cases of diphtheria successfully and possesses the specialist personnel, isolation facilities and medical equipment required to manage infectious disease cases.
The management urged members of the public to remain vigilant for symptoms associated with diphtheria, including persistent fever, severe sore throat and difficulty swallowing.
It advised anyone experiencing such symptoms, as well as parents whose children develop them, to seek immediate medical attention at a recognised healthcare facility and avoid self-medication.
Healthcare workers, patients and visitors were also advised to maintain proper hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette while within the hospital premises.
The hospital management assured the public that it would continue to prioritise community safety and public health, while providing updates based on verified medical information.
ENUGU — The Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Peter Obi, and the party’s Enugu State Governorship Candidate, Sir Chinyeaka Ohaa, on Thursday, August 13, 2026, visited Parklane Specialist Hospital, Enugu, to show solidarity with patients battling kidney disease and other related illnesses.
They arrived at about 5:00 p.m. in the company of other party leaders, including the NDC Senatorial Candidate for Enugu East, Ada Ogbu; Hon. Kentus Eze; Hon. Ike Ezugwu; Architect Everastus Odo; Comrade Obi Mamah, H(JP); Hon. Odo Joel; and other party faithful who turned out to receive Peter Obi.
The visit followed a humanitarian gathering convened by Okwuluora to draw attention to the plight of more than 500 kidney patients and their families struggling to afford treatment.
Over 500 Kidney Patients Cry for Help as Families Battle for Survival
It was an emotional scene as men, women and children living with kidney-related illnesses converged at Parklane, hoping to receive urgent assistance.
Many of the patients showed visible signs of prolonged illness and hardship. Some were due for dialysis but could not afford the treatment, leaving them and their families trapped in a painful struggle for survival.
The severity of their condition was evident, with some displaying swollen hands, arms and legs, while others had bloated abdomens and anxiety-filled faces as they awaited assistance.
Among those present was a 13-year-old boy from Akure, Ondo State. His mother said she had sold virtually everything she owned to sustain his dialysis treatment for the past five years. Despite the sacrifices, the boy was at Parklane hoping to benefit from the intervention.
The large turnout has renewed concerns over the growing burden of kidney disease and the rising cost of dialysis and transplant care in the South-East and other parts of the country.
Speaking at the event, Okwuluora commended the stakeholders who supported the initiative and called for sustained assistance for kidney patients and their families.
The national and state leadership of the NDC also commended Okwuluora for his consistent commitment to Nigerians in need, particularly those battling critical health challenges.
In his remarks, Peter Obi expressed concern after listening to the testimonies of the patients. He called on well-meaning Nigerians, corporate organisations and governments at all levels to support kidney patients in dire need of assistance.
The organisers and families of the patients expressed gratitude to Obi for honouring the invitation and using his platform to draw attention to the plight of sick and vulnerable Nigerians.
They also thanked Sir Chinyeaka Ohaa for standing with the people of Enugu during the difficult moment and for demonstrating what they described as leadership that places human lives first.
Appreciation was equally extended to NDC supporters who attended the gathering, with attendees saying their presence offered hope and reassurance to the patients and their families.
The NDC leadership reaffirmed its commitment to advocating for improved healthcare funding, greater access to dialysis and policies aimed at reducing the burden of catastrophic healthcare expenses on families in Enugu State and across Nigeria.
Gov. Peter Mbah says Enugu State remains fully ready to support Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) on health security facilities and projects within the state.
Mbah said this on Wednesday in Enugu when the Director-General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Dr Jide Idris, paid him a courtesy call during a working visit to the state.
Represented by the Deputy Governor, Chief Ifeanyi Ossai, the governor said that the government had prioritised all issues concerning security especially those dealing on health security and invested heavily on health and related concerns.
According to him, we are fully ready and committed to work with you by providing land, logistics and other necessary requirements to make all health security projects/initiatives a reality.
He said, “We are fully aware of the need to focus and give priority to health security projects and issues.
“As a state, the high volume of travellers coming in their thousands to the state each day have increased our socioeconomic activities, made more investment possible and increased all forms of tourism.
“However, we recognise that only two weeks of a confirmed outbreak of any dreaded disease will scare away these large inflow of people coming into the state.
“This alone will affect and wipe away the striving tourism industry, our people’s vibrant trade and commerce, striving transport ecosystem, investors influx and the huge investment we have put to make Enugu the most attractive city in Africa.”
Mbah said that every effort or investment in health security “is in the right direction to secure our selves, investments, hopes and future.”
The governor commended the NCDC on their recent fight against COVID-19 and all initiatives to ensure prevention of Ebola virus as well as containing other outbreaks in the country.
“I must commend NCDC team for inspecting the ongoing South-East High Definition Molecular Laboratory and other health projects meant to serve our people, South-East and every Nigerian,” he said.
He assured that the government would undertake any responsibility to ensure that NCDC facilities continue running as well as protecting such facilities notwithstanding the premises they are domiciled in within the state.
On the issue of Ebola Virus, the govenor said that the state was taking the designation of Enugu State as a state with high importation risk “very serious”.
“From assessment, the scare of the disease coming to Enugu is real through the Akanu Ibiam International Airport. We are tightening all preventative measures and protocols, while ensuring robust synergy with relevant stakeholders on it.
“The state ministry of health and its partners are on alert over the issue and we are providing necessary support and access to our office on it,” he said.
Mbah called on the NCDC to give the state needed support in terms capacity building and training, close coordination and guidance as well as awareness materials and support in its preventive efforts.
Earlier, Idris said that visit was meant to access uncompleted South-East High Definition Molecular Laboratory, the level of Ebola Prevention and Preparedness at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport and other related projects.
He commended the state government on huge investment in Primary Healthcare Centres, general hospitals, tertiary hospitals and recently the Enugu International Hospital meant to attract medical tourism.
The director-general said that the NCDC wanted the state government to get involved in protecting And maintaining the South-East High Definition Molecular Laboratory and other facilities of the agency coming up in Enugu.
“We are here to strengthen the existing cordial relationship with the state and see how both NCDC and Enugu State Government can collaborate to strengthen issues of health security,” he said.
The Enugu State Government and key health sector partners have pledged a commitment to sustain the gains of the IntegratE Project.
The IntegratE Project is a five-year family planning initiative that expanded access to reproductive health services through Community Pharmacists (CPs) and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) within the state.
The Commissioner for Health, Prof. George Ugwu, gave the commitment on Wednesday during the dissemination of the Enugu State Private Sector Family Planning performance under the IntegratE Project, which ran from Oct. 2021 to July 2026.
Ugwu said that the project had significantly improved reproductive health services and positive outcomes for women in the state over the past five years.
He described family planning as a sensitive but essential service, assuring that the government would continue expanding access while ensuring responsible use.
Ugwu said that Gov. Peter Mbah’s administration remained committed to strengthening primary healthcare outcomes in all ramifications
He revealed that more than 100 new primary healthcare centres would become operational before the end of the year.
The commissioner said that the state government’s commitment to innovation would continue to position the state as a leader in modern healthcare delivery.
Speaking, the representative of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), Mrs Ifeyinwa Ohiaeri, described the project as a major intervention that strengthened family planning services through pharmacy practice.
Ohiaeri stressed that “family planning remains critical” to reproductive, maternal and adolescent health.
She said that the dissemination provided an opportunity to review achievements, challenges and strategies for sustaining the project’s impact, while reaffirming its commitment to professional ethics and quality service delivery.
The representative of the Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Mrs Maureen Nwankwo, said the agency would sustain the gains achieved.
Nwankwo noted that the programme had helped reduce unintended pregnancies, maternal and child deaths through improved access to family planning services.
Group Director of Donor-Funded Programmes at the Society for Family Health, Mr Emeka Okafor, said the national project tested the pharmacy-led delivery model for family planning in Enugu State.
Okafor noted that while about 70 per cent of residents patronise private health providers, much of the state’s routine health data comes only from the public sector, leaving a significant gap.
He said that according to the project’s implementation report, 29,262 women accessed family planning services through trained PPMVs in Enugu State, while 14,541 referrals were made to public health facilities.
He said that the project also exceeded training targets, introduced digital supportive supervision and contributed to the institutionalisation of the Tiered Accreditation System for PPMVs.
The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) and the National Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers (NAPPMED) also pledged continued support for the initiative/project at the grassroots.
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