A Father’s Heartbreak: ‘My Healthy Wife Died in Agony After Giving Birth — Why Wasn’t She Saved?
Imagine the joy of welcoming your first child, only to watch your beloved wife slip away in unimaginable pain hours later, all because a hospital you trusted failed her.
That’s the nightmare Justice John is living through after losing his wife, Akudo Lovelyn John, on December 3, 2025, at Gynescope Specialist Hospital in Lekki, Lagos.
Justice, a legal practitioner and new dad, had every reason to feel hopeful.
He and Akudo, a healthy woman with no underlying issues, faithfully attended antenatal visits from her 13th week of pregnancy.
Scans showed their baby was big, 4.2kg, a case of fetal macrosomia, but consultant gynecologist Dr. Joseph Aliyu Yahaya assured them a vaginal delivery would be fine, ruling out a C-section despite Justice’s worries.
The birth went smoothly at first. But then horror unfolded. Akudo began bleeding heavily and crying out in severe pain.
Justice says staff dismissed it as “piles” at first, then bungled the response.
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For 15 agonizing hours, no urgent referral happened. They transfused five pints of blood without pinpointing the source. At 3 a.m., she convulsed, no oxygen in the ward, no doctors nearby until Justice screamed for help.
In chaos, Akudo fell off a stretcher during evacuation in a barely functional ambulance.
Rushed to Lagos Island Maternity Hospital, she was pronounced dead on arrival.
The hospital’s death certificate blamed cardiac arrest, but a LUTH autopsy revealed the truth: haemorrhagic shock from internal bleeding.
“This is sad, painful, and completely avoidable,” Justice shared tearfully at a press briefing flanked by NBA Lagos Branch Chairman Mrs. Uchenna Ogunedo Akingbade.
“Life is sacred. I won’t rest until justice is served, for Akudo, for our baby, for every family trusting doctors with their loved ones.”
The NBA is demanding probes from the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Hospital Management Board, and Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.
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“Every Nigerian deserves quality care and the right to life,” Akingbade said. “This could be anyone’s wife tomorrow.”
Hospital proprietor Prof. Jude Okohue calls it “very unfortunate” but denies negligence.
He claims no excessive vaginal bleeding occurred only 450ml, normal limits and points to rare black blood in her stool suggesting gastrointestinal issues, escalating over 5-6 hours after she ate soup from home.
He insists no C-section was needed, as labor wasn’t obstructed, and rejects claims of a stretcher fall or abandonment.
The hospital supported the autopsy and seeks a fair hearing.
Yet for Justice, cradling memories of Akudo’s radiant smile and their newborn’s first cries, answers feel hollow without accountability.
As Top Court News monitors investigations, one question haunts: In a city of elite care, why did a mother’s life slip through the cracks?
