Fresh details have emerged surrounding the tragic death of 25-year-old Abuja-based singer Ifunanya Lucy Nwangene, popularly known as Nanyah, who died after being bitten by a snake in her Lugbe apartment.
Sam C. Ezugwu, Director of the Amemuso Choir – of which Ifunanya was a member – provided a detailed account of her final hours, describing a frantic struggle to save her life that ultimately ended in heartbreak.
Ezugwu said the first alert came at 10:13 a.m., when a choir member, Stephanie, sent an urgent message on the group’s WhatsApp chat asking if anyone was near Jabi or the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abuja.
“I immediately called her to find out what had happened,” Ezugwu recalled. “She told me that Ifunanya had been bitten by a snake.”
He quickly contacted Vincent, another choir member skilled in emergencies, and asked him to head to FMC, while he and Ifunanya’s close friend, Paschal, rushed to the hospital.
“When we arrived, doctors were already attending to her,” Ezugwu said. “She was struggling to breathe, on oxygen, and unable to speak, though she tried to communicate through hand gestures. One of the doctors confirmed that she had arrived at the emergency ward on her own and reported being bitten by a grey snake.”
Ifunanya’s uncle, Mr Joseph, was also present at the hospital. She was placed on a drip and given antivenom, but the hospital soon ran out of critical drugs. “The doctors urgently requested Neostigmine and additional doses of the other medications,” Ezugwu said. He and Vincent rushed to Skylark Pharmacy near the National Hospital to secure the medicine.
Despite their efforts, tragedy struck. On returning to FMC, they found Ifunanya lifeless on her hospital bed. Members of the Amemuso Choir and friends gathered in grief at the emergency ward.
According to neighbours, Ifunanya had been bitten on the wrist while sleeping between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. She immediately sought help—her hand was tied to slow the spread of venom, and neighbours tried to get her to a hospital. After her car failed to start, she ran about 500 metres to the estate gate, took a motorcycle to the nearest hospital, Divine Health Hospital, and then booked a ride to FMC. During her transit around 9:40 a.m., she called friends, family, and choir members for assistance.
Throughout the ordeal, Mr Joseph and Vincent stayed in contact with her father, Mr Nwangene, who coordinated for an ambulance and arranged the transportation of his daughter’s body to Enugu. After her death was confirmed, her body was embalmed and later transported in a white body bag via convoy to Guardian Angel Catholic Chapel, Lugbe, where Fr. Stephen Biodun blessed the remains before their final journey to Enugu.
Following the incident, a snake handler inspected Ifunanya’s residence. Ezugwu revealed that three snakes were found: a medium-sized cobra inside her room, a smaller snake near her doormat, and a third snake in a nearby compound. Investigators concluded that the cobra was responsible for the fatal bite.