Femi Ashekun/
Grief, anger and unanswered questions have continued to trail the death of a newly wed woman, Akudo Lovelyn John, who died hours after giving birth at Gynescope Specialist Hospital, Lekki, Lagos, in a case that has sparked public outrage and a coroner’s inquest.
Her husband, Justice John, a Lagos-based lawyer, has accused the hospital of gross medical negligence, alleging that his wife bled to death from mismanaged Primary Postpartum Haemorrhage after what he described as a catalogue of avoidable errors, delays and shocking lapses in emergency response.
“My wife walked into that hospital alive, healthy and hopeful. She never walked out,” Justice John said in an emotionally charged account. “What should have been the happiest day of our lives turned into the darkest night I will live with forever.”
Akudo John, who had no known underlying medical conditions, had registered and received antenatal care at Gynescope Specialist Hospital. According to her husband, concerns were raised during her third trimester after doctors noted that the baby was unusually large.
“The consultant, Dr Joseph Aliyu Yahaya, told us the baby was big,” Justice John recalled. “We responsibly asked about safer delivery options, including an elective Caesarean section. Those concerns were dismissed outright. He insisted on spontaneous vaginal delivery.”
On Wednesday, December 3, 2025, Akudo went into labour. She eventually delivered a baby boy weighing 4.2 kilograms after an episiotomy was performed. Moments after the delivery, her husband said, the consultant left the labour ward.
“Immediately after my son was delivered, the consultant walked away,” he said. “My wife’s stitches were done by his subordinate. From that moment, everything started going wrong.”
Justice John said his wife soon complained of a disturbing sensation inside her body.
“She kept saying something was dripping inside her,” he recounted. “The consultant later noticed her vulva was abnormally swollen and said the sutures were too tight. He cut and re-sutured her.”
Following the second procedure, her condition deteriorated rapidly.
“She became pale, lifeless and unconscious for hours, yet the bleeding did not stop,” he said. “The consultant himself admitted she was bleeding internally, but no decisive steps were taken to stop it or to refer her urgently to a higher facility.”
According to him, there was a 15-hour window between the birth of their child and his wife’s death.
“Blood transfusions were given without first identifying or repairing the source of the bleeding,” he said. “Time was ticking, and nothing meaningful was done.”
By the early hours of Thursday, December 4, 2025, the situation turned critical.
“At about 3am, my wife started convulsing,” Justice John said. “There was no doctor or nurse in sight. I screamed for help. When they finally arrived from the ground floor, there was no oxygen in the ward.”
He said he begged that his wife be transferred immediately to another hospital.
“I asked for her to be moved,” he said. “The consultant told me no hospital would accept her without a pulse. Minutes later, after more deterioration, he suddenly agreed.”
What followed, according to Justice John, was a chaotic and traumatic evacuation that he said sealed his wife’s fate.
“They brought a stretcher without side guards or straps,” he said. “As they were moving her along the third floor, she fell off the stretcher onto the tiled floor. My wife, who was already dying, hit the ground. I had to help lift her back up myself.”
He challenged the hospital to release CCTV footage of the evacuation.
“I have asked them to release the unedited CCTV footage of the third floor from that night,” he said. “Let Nigerians see what happened.”
The confusion continued as staff debated whether to use the stairs or the lift, wasting precious minutes. When they eventually reached the ground floor, Justice John said he was stunned by what he saw.
“The ambulance was not at the entrance,” he said. “It was about 80 metres away, covered with a tarpaulin, as if it had not been prepared for any emergency.”
Even more shocking, he alleged, was the state of readiness of the ambulance.
“When I asked the driver to open it, I was told the keys were with the Human Resources manager,” he said. “We waited for the keys. Then the driver said he needed to connect the battery. All this while, my wife lay on a stretcher in the open, without oxygen, bleeding.”
When the ambulance finally moved, Justice John insisted that the consultant accompany his wife.
“I followed behind them,” he said. “On the way, the ambulance stopped twice. Then, when we got to Lagos Island, I noticed they seemed lost.”
He overtook the ambulance to ask where they were going.
“A nurse told me they were heading to ‘Marina’,” he said. “I realised they did not even have a clear destination. I then led them to Lagos Island Maternity Hospital.”
Tragically, Akudo was pronounced dead on arrival.
“They told me she was dead,” he said quietly. “Just like that. The mother of my child. My newly wedded wife.”
Lagos Island Maternity Hospital issued a note directing that her body be taken to the General Hospital morgue. However, controversy deepened over the cause of death.
“Gynescope issued a death certificate saying she died of cardiac arrest,” Justice John said. “But that did not make sense.”
Her body was later taken to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital as part of a coroner’s inquest. The autopsy report, he said, told a different story.
“LUTH stated clearly that the cause of death was haemorrhagic shock,” he said. “That directly contradicts the hospital’s claim.”
Justice John has since written petitions to the Lagos State Government, including the Commissioner for Health, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health and the Health Service Commission. He has also petitioned the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, demanding a thorough investigation and accountability.
“I am not just seeking sympathy,” he said. “I am demanding accountability. This cannot be swept under the carpet.”
The case has drawn widespread reactions on social media, with members of the Nigerian Bar Association and civil society figures expressing shock and calling for justice.
A coroner’s inquest is now underway to determine the circumstances surrounding Akudo John’s death.
As investigations continue, Justice John says nothing can replace what he has lost.
“My wife trusted that hospital with her life,” he said. “She trusted them to bring our child into the world safely. Instead, I came home with a baby and buried his mother.”
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