By Stephen ENOCH

“PLEASE do not fight among yourselves. Make sure that you and your siblings live in peace and remember that I have taught you to respect people. Do this for me and make me proud.”

Those were the last words Aishatu Umar said to her daughter before she died. The words turned out to become her final counsel to the children she would soon leave behind. Within hours, Aishatu passed on, not from a sudden illness, but from what her family describes as a chain of medical negligence that began inside the Abubakar Imam Urology Centre in Kano.

The news about Aishatu’s death broke on January 12 through a Facebook post. The post sparked outrage, prompting the Kano State Government to suspend officials linked to the case. As public pressure grew, The ICIR dug further on what really went wrong.

Abubakar Mohammed, her husband said his late wife’s ordeal began after doctors diagnosed her with a kidney cyst that caused persistent abdominal pain, after which a surgery was recommended. A date was fixed, and on September 16, 2025, Aishatu was taken in for the operation, hopeful that it would bring relief.

The surgery was carried out. But unknown to her and her family, something went terribly wrong in the operating theatre.

After the operation, the pain did not go away. Instead, it lingered sharp, recurring, and increasingly unbearable. Each time she returned for follow-up visits, she complained of severe lower abdominal pain. The response from the hospital, her husband said, was always the same.

“They told her it was normal post-operation pain and that would gradually fade. Trusting the doctors, Aishatu endured the pain for months, bearing it quietly until Friday, January 9. “Around 4 p.m. that day, I received a call from my wife. She was screaming and crying, saying she was in excruciating pain.

“I was far from home, but family members rushed her to Mohammed Abdullahi Wase Teaching Hospital, after which I joined them. We remained there until about 2 a.m., when she was treated and given medications. Still, the pain persisted. The next morning, Saturday, January 10, we returned to the hospital. Doctors reviewed her condition again, ordered more tests, and kept her under observation. When the results came out, the situation took a more serious turn.

“The doctors told us my wife needed to be admitted but because of renovation in the hospital, she couldn’t be admitted and referred us to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, (AKTH),” he revealed.

At AKTH Aishatu was received at the emergency unit and later moved to the female medical ward. A team of gynaecologists was invited to examine her. She was admitted, and doctors ordered a scan and an X-ray to determine the cause of her critical condition.

“Unfortunately for us, we couldn’t get the scan done because it was too late around 2 a.m. So, we did it the next day,” Mohammed said.

By the time the tests were conducted on Sunday, January 11, the truth emerged, and it was devastating. The X-ray revealed that surgical scissors had been left inside her abdomen during the earlier operation at Abubakar Imam Urology Centre.

“Immediately the result was released, she was prepared for an emergency surgery. Everything was set. Logistics were arranged. Around 11 p.m. on Sunday night, January 12, Aishatu was taken into the theatre.

“She never came out alive. Before they even started operating her, we lost her,” Mohammed said.

After the discovery, Mohammed said he contacted the doctor in charge at the urology centre to inform him of the development. The doctor promised to come but did not show up until Tuesday, January 13, after news of Aishatu’s death had gone viral on social media.

“No one from the hospital came to condole us even after the funeral, until the news had gone viral. When the hospital management visited, they described the incident as “an act of God”, asking the family not to escalate the matter,” Mohammed said with rage.

For Mohammed, silence was not an option.

“They are the only people who have ever operated on my wife in her entire life. How can I lose her because of their negligence and just keep quiet? I want justice. I am going to court. The compensation I want is justice,” he revealed.

Aishatu had so much trust in the hospital that caused her demise – Sister  

“Aishatu trusted the hospital. She trusted the doctor. She believed that the pain she felt every day after her surgery was normal, because that was what she was repeatedly told. That trust ended her life”, said Adama Ahmed, the deceased’s sister.

She told The ICIR that since her sister underwent the surgery four months earlier, there was never a day she didn’t complain to her of abdominal pain. She encouraged her to keep attending follow-up appointments and to be firm with the doctor.

Aishatu’s sister found the doctor’s explanations troubling. To her, something was clearly wrong. “I kept asking her, why didn’t the doctor prescribe anything? Why didn’t he ask you to do an X-ray or a scan? That is not normal. Aishatu endured the pain till she died. Confirmation that my sister’s death resulted from medical negligence only deepened the family’s grief.

“Aishatu had so much confidence in the Urology centre that when I had some medical issues and was to be operated on, she suggested the facility. But I did not because I already made arrangement with another medical facility.

Sister insists on justice

Ahmed wants those responsible for the negligence to be held accountable, not out of vengeance, but to prevent others from suffering the same fate.

They should be punished so this doesn’t happen again. The system needs to be sanitised,” she said.

Ahmed added that even in death, Aishatu’s kindness speaks for her.  She said a woman from Kaduna, who had done business with her online for years without ever meeting her, arrived in tears after hearing the news.

It wasn’t a scissors that was forgotten in Aishatu’s system – Urology centre claims

Balarabe Muhammad, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Abubakar Imam Urology Centre while speaking with The ICR denied claims that a scissors was forgotten in Umar’s system. In his words, “It was an artery forceps that was forgotten in the patient and not a scissors. An artery forceps is not as sharp as a scissors, it is blunt and is used to hold an artery or vein that is bleeding.

“I am not denying that a medical equipment was forgotten in her system, but I can say that Aishatu didn’t die as a result of the forceps that was in her system, rather she died as a result of anaesthesia that was administered to her at AKTH. She died in that hospital. Incidents like this occur sometimes but this cannot be the cause of her death.

“The doctors who carried out the operation on Aishatu have been suspended and investigation is ongoing. However, the doctors that attended to her at AKTH also need to be investigated so that the actual cause of her demise can be ascertained,” Muhammad said.

AKTH refutes urology centre’s claim

In response to Muhammad’s claim, Suwaid Abba, the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee at AKTH vehemently opposed the claim that an anaesthesia was the cause of her death.  “It is very unfair to push the blame on AKTH. If a medical equipment wasn’t forgotten in her system, she would not have been here in the first place,” he stated.

Abba told The ICIR that it was when Aishatu was referred to AKTH that the medical equipment was discovered in her system. According to him, due to the severity of the situation, she had a cardiac arrest while preparing for the emergency operation and was resuscitated.

“She died before our doctors operated on her. It is unfair that anyone will blame us for the death. We are open to investigation. The government can send officials to investigate us, our doors are open,’ he stated.

Expert weighs in

Umma Abubakar Isah, a medical officer who conducts surgical procedures in Kano State explained that no surgical procedure is the responsibility of a single individual, stressing that surgery is a collective, team-based process. Isah pointed out that the presence of a medial equipment left inside a patient’s body suggests a breakdown in standard operating procedures.

She explained that during surgeries there is a perioperative Nurse who works alongside the team conducting the operation. “It is the responsibility of the perioperative nurse to count all instruments that will be used for the surgery. After the surgery, the Nurse must retrieve the exact number of surgical equipment given to the surgeon and recount them after the surgery to confirm that nothing is missing,” she explained.

For this reason, she said she finds it difficult to rationalise how such an error could occur, noting that the incident points to a serious systemic failure rather than an isolated lapse.

Speaking on response time and post-operative care, Isah said the medical team should have acted promptly when Aishatu continued to complain of abdominal pain after the surgery. “Pain is expected after surgery, but it should not be persistent or worsen. From what I understand, her pain was even worse than before the operation, which is a major red flag,” Isah told this reporter.

She stressed that such complaints should have triggered immediate and thorough investigations, including imaging tests, to determine the cause of the pain.

While clarifying that she was not excusing the medical team, Isah acknowledged the challenges facing public health facilities in Kano State. She described the Abubakar Imam Urology Centre as a high-volume facility that handles an overwhelming number of patients daily.

“This facility is understaffed. The number of health workers are not close to enough to cater for the volume of patients coming in day in, day out. The workload is overwhelming,” she pointed out.

Despite these challenges, Isah was unequivocal in her conclusion. “Aishatu’s death was preventable. From the first time she returned after surgery complaining of abdominal pain, something should have been done. She should have been thoroughly investigated to find out the cause.

She called on the government to address the imbalance between Kano State’s population and the number of available medical professionals by employing more health workers and strengthening public health facilities.

Isah also urged medical professionals to take greater responsibility. She added: “We must continuously update our skills and knowledge. Patients entrust their lives to us, and we must remain conscious of that responsibility and do what we are supposed to do.”

We acted promptly – Kano State government 

Mustapha Mohammed, the Chief Press Secretary to the Kano State Governor, in an interview with The ICIR said the government acted immediately after the incident became public.  According to him, health officials quickly reviewed the situation and identified those who were on duty at the Abubakar Imam Urology Centre at the time of the surgery.

He explained that the first step taken by the government was the suspension of the medical personnel involved, pending the outcome of an investigation. Mohammed confirmed that an investigative panel has been set up to determine what actually happened and to establish whether there was negligence. He stressed that further actions would depend on the findings of the panel.

“You cannot just jump into sacking someone from their job. There are procedures to follow. The suspension means they should stop operating while investigations are ongoing, to prevent a recurrence of such an incident. The investigation will show whether there was negligence or not, and based on that, the next line of action will be taken,” he said.

While noting that he is not part of the health authorities, Mohammed acknowledged that negligence, especially in the health sector, is a serious matter, especially when it has to do with the lives of people.

“I want to assure the public that the state government would not shield anyone found culpable. Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf would act decisively if the investigation confirms negligence. The governor is a no-nonsense leader. If the report suggests that someone should be sacked due to negligence, I do not think the governor will hesitate to do the right thing,” he assured.

‘Our mother’s death should not go unpunished’

Fifteen year old Abubakar Khadija who was with Aishatu at the hospital before she died was full of sadness when she spoke to The ICIR. She couldn’t believe that her mother had gone and the beautiful future that she pictured with her is not realistic.

The last thing the deceased told her daughter on the sickbed before she died was, “Please do not fight among yourselves, make sure that you and your siblings live in peace and remember that I have thought you to respect people. Do this for me and make me proud.”

According to Khadija, her mother was her friend and only source of encouragement. “She always encouraged me to be the best in my studies, in my extracurricular activities and anytime I was passing through tough situation especially in school. My mother was always there for me.

“Now that she is gone how will I survive this heartbreak? My mother wass my best friend, now she is no more. I want those that were responsible for her death to be punished because they have taken my happiness away,” Khadija said.

Like Khadija, 13 year old Umar Abubakar told The ICIR that he wants justice for his mother. “I was at home when she was helplessly crying of pains after which she was taken to the hospital and when I got the information that she had died, I cried bitterly. I want those who were responsible for her death to be punished,” he said.

Medical negligence and what the law says

The Kano State Hospitals Management Board confirmed the death of Aishatu, to be a result of medical negligence at the Urology Centre, of which suspensions followed immediately.

The allegations of medical negligence such as those surrounding Aishatu’s death fall under the authority of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), the body empowered by law to regulate doctors and investigate professional misconduct. Where negligence is suspected, the MDCN can activate its Investigating Panel and Disciplinary Tribunal to examine the conduct of the medical personnel involved.

If a doctor is found guilty of negligence, the MDCN’s Disciplinary Tribunal may impose sanctions ranging from formal reprimand to suspension or complete withdrawal of the practitioner’s licence. Such disciplinary action is independent of government panels and is aimed at enforcing professional accountability and protecting patient safety.

Beyond professional discipline, Nigerian law allows victims or families to seek civil compensation for medical negligence, while cases involving preventable death may attract criminal liability, including prosecution for gross negligence. This means the Aishatu Umar case can proceed simultaneously through regulatory, civil, and criminal channels.