A PRIVATE hospital in Lagos has reportedly refused to release the corpse of former Nigerian boxer Jeremiah ‘Jerry’ Okorodudu, who died on Wednesday, June 28. 

He was 64.

Okorodudu died after battling foot ulcer and stroke.

Before his demise, there were reports that Okorodudu was not able to meet up with medical bills, which affected his treatment.

On Thursday, June 22, the ex-boxer’s wife, Atinuke, told The ICIR that Okorodudu was owing the hospital. She said the hospital demanded the immediate payment of N1 million medical bill, failing which the patient would be thrown out before weekend.

However, Atinuke did not disclose the name of the hospital, saying the proprietor had warned her not to give out the information.

Confirming Okorodudu’s death, a Nigerian sports journalist, Raymond Akparhuere of Eagle 7 Sports Radio, who is close to the ailing ex-boxer, told The ICIR, that the retired pugilist passed away on Wednesday afternoon.

“He died this afternoon, they could not pay the money for his medical bill,” he told The ICIR’s reporter on Wednesday.

Asked if he had heard from Atinuke, he said: “It is still fresh, I can’t call her.”

The ICIR sent a message to the late boxer’s wife to confirm his death but she has not responded as of the time of filing this report.

On a popular sports WhatsApp group, NSM, a source who pleaded anonymity  also disclosed the death of the ex-boxer.

According to him, the hospital withheld the corpse of the deceased due to debt owed during his stay in the hospital.

“I just got this now! Good evening sir. Jeremiah is gone and they said we can’t take his body away because we haven’t paid the balance of the hospital,” he posted.

The boxer’s wife later confirmed the development in a interview with The PUNCH.

She said the hospital was not willing to release her husband’s corpse until an outstanding N600,000 medical bill is paid.

“He is dead now but we still need to pay N600,000 to get his body out of the hospital,” she told The PUNCH.

Okorodudu represented Nigeria at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games, where he competed in the middleweight category.

He was a gold medallist at the Oluyole ’79 National Sports Festival in Ibadan.

His medical predicament began in 2020 with a boil that affected his mobility. He then had a successful surgery at Dans Hospital, Irawo, Ikorodu, Lagos.

But his health condition relapsed after he was diagnosed of foot ulcer and suffered a stroke.