Metro

New Naira: How My Pregnant Wife Died In Kano Hospital – Husband

Published

3 years ago

February 19, 2023

A 32-year-old woman, Shema’u Labaran, died along with her nine-month pregnancy at the Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital, Kano, reportedly due to the inability of her husband to pay medical bills in the new naira notes in time.

Labaran was allegedly left in pain for more than eight hours without attention from the medical personnel on duty.

Narrating the unfortunate incident that led to his wife’s death, the 42-year-old husband of the deceased, Bello Baffa, told an online newspaper on Saturday that his wife (Shema’u) bled to death while he was struggling to settle medical bills at the pharmacy through transfer.

Baffa revealed how he spent hours waiting for the cashier to confirm the payment of N8,528 for drugs because the hospital had stopped receiving the old naira notes.

The bereaved husband regretted that the medical personnel insisted they would not attend to his late wife until he deposited money and provided evidence before his wife would be attended to.

Baffa said he had earlier provided N8,500 old naira notes to the cashier but he was told the hospital management had placed an embargo on the old currency and refused to provide a point-of-sale service except payment through transfer.

Baffa told the online platform that the hospital subsequently requested N4,000 for blood service after he had brought his relatives to donate blood for his wife.

”I was told I had to pay an additional N4,000 for blood service, and I quickly rushed out to the payment point. At that time, it was late and (I was) afraid my wife had suffered a lot without medical attention. So after I made the payment and waited for an alert, I had to beg them to issue the payment evidence while my brother would remain with them pending when they would confirm the transfer. I also narrated my wife’s condition. They accepted the condition and the receipt was printed. I rushed to the ward again and it was at that moment, getting to 1am, that my wife was taken to the labour room.”

Regrettably, Baffa disclosed that the doctor later came out of the labour room around 3am to break the bad news, ‘your wife and unborn baby could not make it.’

Although the husband said he believed Shema’u would die at an appropriate time, he insisted that the alleged inhumane treatment by the hospital to his wife because of the old naira notes rejection contributed to her sudden death.

Baffa disclosed that he had taken to fate as a Muslim. He, however, urged the government to check the painful policy to save innocent lives from untimely death the way he lost Shema’u.

Efforts to get a reaction from the management of the hospital were not successful as our correspondent was directed to speak to the state hospital management board.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the board, Ibrahim Abdullahi, who confirmed the incident, stressed that the management had commenced investigation into the matter.

He noted that the Chief Medical Director is scheduled to brief journalists about the development as soon as the investigation is concluded.

Metro

Fake Revenue Agents Apprehended In Aba While Defrauding Residents

Published

55 minutes ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

Abia State Harmonized Taskforce has apprehended four individuals impersonating as members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) for acts of extortion, intimidation, and illegal enforcement along the Port Harcourt Road axis of Aba and its environs.

They were nabbed on Thursday at Flyover junction around Ugwunagbo area through an operation authorized by the Aba Area Coordinator of ASHTF, Mr. Uche Wogu.

A statement issued by Miracle Chukwunenye, spokesperson of the Harmonized Task Force said that the agency received multiple complaints from market women, tricycle (Keke) operators, and traders about the unlawful activities of a group led by one Mr. Ahuama.

‎”Upon arrival, the Taskforce, in joint effort with the police, arrested Mr. Ahuama and three accomplices who were caught extorting money from unsuspecting traders and tricycle operators under the false pretense of being NURTW officials.

“Investigations revealed that the suspects had already impounded about twenty (20) tricycles earlier that morning and collected money from the owners before being intercepted,” Chukwunenye said.

‎He added that during the operation, the suspects resisted arrest and attacked Taskforce operatives and police officers, but they were eventually subdued and are now in custody.

Chukwunenye sensitized traders and transporters that Abia State operates a strict No-Cash-at-Hand revenue system, and as such, no government-authorized personnel is permitted to collect cash from citizens.

Metro

Stray Bullet Kills 13-year-old Boy In Delta Community

Published

1 hour ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

Stray bullets have killed a-13-year old boy, as well as injured many others in Sapele, Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State.

The incident occurred at about 10pm on Thursday Night.

According to DAILY POST, sporadical shots from security men on guard duty at a popular hotel killed the boy by Mopol Zone junction in Tropical area.

The incident caused serious tension in the area.

The reasons for the sporadic shootings by the security men were still sketchy as of the time of this report.

Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe is yet to comment on the matter.

Metro

LASG Orders Eviction Of Squatters Under Opebi–Mende Bridge

Published

19 hours ago

October 9, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Government has ordered the immediate eviction of squatters and traders who have converted the space beneath the yet-to-be-commissioned Opebi–Mende Bridge into makeshift homes and shops.

The directive followed an unscheduled inspection of the bridge on Thursday by the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, alongside the Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure, Olufemi Daramola, and the Permanent Secretary, Olatokunbo Oyenuga.

According to a statement signed and released by the Director of Public Affairs, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Kunle Adeshina, Wahab directed security agencies to immediately move in and dislodge all squatters and demolish illegal structures erected beneath the bridge.

“The Lagos State Government has given a marching order for the immediate dislodgement of all types of squatters who have converted the underbelly of the new but yet-to-be-commissioned Opebi–Mende Bridge into homes and stores,” the statement read.

Wahab said the state government would not allow any part of the newly built infrastructure to become a haven for miscreants, stressing that protecting lives and property remained a core duty of the administration.

“It is disheartening that an iconic project which is almost ready for commissioning, has suddenly been taken over by different shades of miscreants and squatters.

“Even some people from the Cane Village have come to the underbelly of the bridge to create an illegal settlement. We will not only dislodge them but also permanently monitor the location to ensure they do not return,” Wahab was quoted as saying in the statement.

Reinforcing his stance in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Wahab wrote that the Sanwo-Olu administration “will not tolerate lawlessness,” warning mechanics who have turned the adjoining open space into workshops to vacate immediately or risk having their vehicles impounded.

“Security agencies will move in immediately, and we will sustain monitoring to ensure squatters do not return. The Opebi–Mende Bridge is a huge investment by the Babajide Sanwo-Olu–led administration, and we will protect it for the benefit of law-abiding citizens,” he wrote.

The Special Adviser on Infrastructure, Engr. Daramola, noted that the state had invested heavily in the project and warned that failure to act swiftly could turn the area into a slum. He pledged to collaborate with the Ministry of the Environment to clean up and maintain the site.

The Opebi–Mende-Ojota Link Bridge, initiated by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was flagged off on 26 January 2022.

It is approximately 3.9 km long and is designed to connect Opebi in Ikeja through Mende to Maryland and Ojota, offering relief to motorists in the Ikeja-Ojota axis by easing congestion on roads such as Mobolaji Bank-Anthony and Kudirat Abiola Way.

Meanwhile, Lagos State Government has intensified enforcement operations to remove illegal structures under bridges and drainage channels in places like Ijora, Apongbon, Obalende, and Adeniji-Adele, as part of efforts to reclaim public space and address environmental, safety, and traffic concerns.