Snake bite: Why we couldn’t save late Nwangene, FMC CMD tells Senate

The Chief Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi, Abuja, Professor Saad Ahmed, has explained why the hospital was unable to prevent the death of late musician Ifunanya Nwangene, who died from a snake bite on January 31.

The CMD attributed the tragedy to the nearly two-hour delay between the time the cobra bit her and her arrival at the hospital.

Ahmed, who appeared before the Senate Committee on Health on Saturday during the continuation of the defence of the 2026 budget estimates, told reporters that the 26-year-old entertainer was already manifesting symptoms of venom exposure by the time she reached the medical facility.

He dismissed social media reports suggesting that anti-venom was not administered promptly, describing them as untrue.

The CMD explained: “First, I want to extend my condolences to the family and friends of the deceased. However, this was a case of a cobra bite.

“The cobra is one of the most poisonous snakes we know, and time is of the essence from the moment a person is bitten to when medical care is accessed.

“She presented to our hospital more than two hours after she was bitten by the cobra. By that time, she had already begun to manifest systemic envenomation. Contrary to reports on social media, we did have anti-snake venom.

“Two doses were promptly administered. The first dose was given through infusion, and afterwards, a second dose was administered.

“So, she received two doses of anti-snake venom. However, the venom had already gone systemic, and as we all know, the cobra is highly poisonous.

“If she had presented much earlier, probably within 10 to 15 minutes, that is usually when anti-venoms are most effective. Unfortunately, she arrived more than two hours after the deadly incident.”

Nonetheless, Ahmed said Nwangene’s death should serve as a wake-up call, particularly for hospitals that may not be adequately prepared to handle such emergencies.

“For FMC Abuja, we had anti-snake venom fully stocked. Our emergency services are top-notch, and our staff were fully on ground,” he added.