Man Loses Wife as Power Outage Disrupts Surgery at Jummai Babangida Aliyu General Hospital
A heartbreaking tragedy occurred at Jummai Babangida Aliyu General Hospital in Minna, Niger State, as a man lost his wife during a surgical operation disrupted by a sudden power outage and a failure of the hospital’s backup generator.
The grieving husband recounted the traumatic experience through a series of emotional posts on his Facebook page, detailing how the situation unfolded during what should have been a routine operation.
According to his account, the surgery had barely progressed 35 minutes when the hospital lost power due to a disruption by the electricity distribution company, commonly referred to as NEPA. Shockingly, the hospital’s theater generator had no fuel at the time of the outage.
Efforts were made to supply fuel, but even after fuel was procured, the generator failed to start. A mechanic was subsequently called to fix the generator; however, the repairs were delayed as the mechanic had to travel to Ogbomosho in Minna to buy spare parts.
While the patient remained inside the operating theater, one of the nurses attempted to reassure the distraught husband, explaining that the surgical team was continuing the operation using alternative lighting sources such as lamps or flashlights.
The situation remained critical for hours. Although public power supply was eventually restored after about an hour, the mechanic was still battling to repair the generator, and the backup system remained nonfunctional. A procedure that should have lasted about 90 minutes extended from 4 p.m. to well after 7 p.m.
The man later confirmed the tragic loss of his wife, posting in deep sorrow:
"Inna lillahi wa Inna lillahi rajiun. Kasaa. I just lost my wife."
His heartbreaking story quickly went viral on social media, attracting an outpouring of sympathy and anger from Nigerians across various platforms.
Among the many reactions, @atkfarouk commented:
“This is horrible, may Nigeria never happen to us.”
Similarly, @Iamsheriff5 wrote:
“May Nigeria not happen to us. Let’s pray we don’t face similar challenges. The thought of a hospital struggling with power during a life-saving operation is devastating. May the deceased rest in peace.”
@Mister_YB expressed outrage:
“What sort of negligence is this, for God’s sake? How can a hospital depend solely on NEPA for life-saving situations??”
@realYusufTukur added:
“Some happenings in Nigeria can only be imagined in fiction books and movies, not reality. May Allah forgive her shortcomings, have mercy upon her soul, and grant the husband the fortitude to bear this loss.”
Other commenters described the event as a result of systemic failure, calling for urgent reforms in the health sector to prevent a recurrence.
The hospital management has yet to release an official statement on the incident as of the time of this report.
The tragedy highlights the persistent infrastructure challenges facing Nigeria’s healthcare system, especially in public hospitals where basic amenities such as steady power supply and functional backup generators are critical but often unreliable.
