“They Were Looking for the Snake While She Was There” – Family Speaks on Nanyah’s Death

• The family of late singer Nanyah has accused neighbours and hospitals of negligence following her death from a snake bite.
• They claim security delays and the absence of anti-venom at two hospitals contributed to the tragic loss.

The family of late Enugu-based singer Ifunanya Nwangene, popularly known as Nanyah, has shared a heartbreaking account of the events that led to her death after a snake bite, alleging delays and negligence by neighbours, security personnel, and healthcare facilities.

Nanyah reportedly died after being bitten by a large snake inside her compound. According to her family, crucial time was wasted before she was taken to the hospital, and she was later rejected by two medical facilities due to a lack of anti-venom.

Speaking in an interview with BBC Pidgin, her sister-in-law, Blessing Oduche, described the incident as a chain of avoidable failures.

“The snake is not a small snake. It is a big snake. After the bite, they were looking for the snake, and Ifunanya was still there,” she said.

Blessing explained that security personnel in the compound failed to treat the situation as an emergency, choosing instead to search for the snake rather than immediately taking Nanyah to the hospital.

“I do not know if the security guys in our compound did not know that it was an emergency because they did not carry her immediately.
They suspended attending to her to find the snake. So they took time looking for the snake,” she said.

She added that more time was lost when a vehicle meant to transport the singer failed to start.

Despite her worsening condition, Nanyah reportedly struggled on her own to seek help.

“She carried the hand, and she was running towards the gate. The distance from her house to the gate is lengthy, but she carried her hands to the gate notwithstanding,” Blessing narrated.

Nanyah was eventually taken on a motorcycle to Divine Health Clinic, but the facility referred her elsewhere after discovering they did not have anti-venom.

According to the family, the singer was bitten between 8:30 and 9:00 pm, but only arrived at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) around 10:00 pm, more than 90 minutes later, where she was pronounced dead.