Friday, March 25th, 2016 was Good Friday. Therefore, it was normal for Mr. Ausbet Udebu and his family, who are dedicated Catholics, to spend the day in
prayer. It is a known fact that on Good Fridays, Catholic Churches the world over re-enact the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Christ known as the 'Good Friday procession'.

Mr. Ausbet Udebu and his family joined the Good Friday procession which took off from St Paul's Catholic Church, Oyingbo, Ebute Metta, Lagos to end at St. Dominic’s Catholic Church, Yaba, Lagos (where the Udebus worship). Thereafter, they proceeded to join in the celebration of Good Friday.

Afterwards, the family (Mrs. Ngozi Udebu and her four daughters) left the church for home, but without Mr. Udebu, who works voluntarily as a traffic marshal at their parish.Christabelle, the first child, called him on the phone saying that her mum was complaining of terrible abdominal pain. She was observing her monthly cycle which is usually managed with medications to reduce the pain. Mr. Udebu rushed back home and noticed that the pain was beyond the regular menstrual pain. He quickly rushed her to a private hospital where the doctor on duty examined her and referred them to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) for further diagnosis and treatment.

The Udebus got to LUTH at about 9pm with Mrs. Udebu writhing in pain which was apparently a case of a medical emergency. He was asked if he was registered with the hospital, he answered in the affirmative but could not remember his family's registration number. He was told he had to get a new one. While this extremely slow procedure was being executed, his wife was left unattended to in her excruciatingly painful condition.

Mrs. Udebu underwent some tests/scan and the results were ready before 7am the next morning. Mr. Udebu took the results to the pool of doctors, but he was asked to wait until the doctors are ready for the ward rounds. After about 90 minutes, a doctor finally turned up, checked her and confirmed she was stable except that the scan revealed some trace of ulcer. The doctor prescribed Gascol and an injection which were not readily available at LUTH!!! Mr. Udebu quickly rushed to buy the prescription outside the hospital premises which he luckily got. This took about an hour.

After administering the drug and injection, Mrs. Udebu had no visible relief. The doctor then prescribed another brand of injection called IV NEXIUM. Again, Mr. Udebu quickly rushed out to buy the injection. TALK OF A GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL WHERE THE PATIENTS ARE MADE TO PURCHASE EVERYTHING WHILE PRECIOUS TIME THAT WOULD HAVE SAVED THE PATIENT'S LIFE IS BEING WASTED!!!

The emergency unit where Mrs. Udebu was kept had NO LIGHT, NO FAN, POOR VENTILATION. Mr. Udebu had to use the flashlight of his phone to assist the doctor in finding the wife’s vein. He was physically fanning his wife because she was sweating profusely and having difficulty breathing due to the stuffy condition, coupled with a malfunctioning window directly opposite her bed which could not be opened.

By Sunday, 27th March, Mrs. Udebu (a patient who had now developed breathing problems after spending 48hrs in a very hot emergency unit with little ventilation) was moved out of the emergency unit to the female ward because according to the doctor, they move patients out of the emergency ward after 24hrs and she had spent 48hrs.

Since the beginning of this travail, Mr. Udebu never left his wife's side due to the fact that he perceived a certain lack of professionalism and necessary care on the part of the staff of LUTH. When it was night, he was told that no patient’s relation would be allowed to stay in the ward. Mrs. Udebu's younger sister even volunteered to stay and help her out in the case of any need. The nurses bluntly refused, saying it was against hospital policy.

Meanwhile, this was a person who suddenly developed severe breathing difficulties from her stay in the emergency unit. She definitely would have fared better with someone by her side to help out just in case something went wrong. They just refused, sticking to their ‘almighty’ policy.

During this time, Mrs. Udebu's condition consistently deteriorated and she needed oxygen to stay alive. LUTH SAID THEY HAD NO OXYGEN MASK!!! Mr. Udebu did not have much choice but to rush out, yet again, to get one. What a country where the life of an individual is not valued. NIGERIA’S PRIME TEACHING HOSPITAL! NO OXYGEN MASK?!!

Mr. Udebu then purchased an oxygen mask and his wife was placed on oxygen. Her breathing became slightly improved.Mrs. Udebu, in her weak state, pleaded with the nurses to permit her husband or her younger sister to be with her through the night, but her plea was equally turned down. "Daddy, don’t go" was Mrs. Udebu’s mournful cry asking her husband to stay back. Mr. Udebu was asked to leave and almost forced out of the ward. Dejected as he was, he reluctantly left with his sister in-law at about 11pm.

At about 6am the next morning, Mr. Udebu was back in the ward, in the company of his eldest daughter Christabelle, to offer her the attention she needed but to their deepest shock, the curtain over her bed was already drawn. Mr. Udebu immediately suspected something eerie.He instantly knew, but did not want to believe that his wife of fifteen years and mother to his four children was no more. Mrs. Ngozi Udebu died in the early hours of the morning. To make the pain more telling, nobody contacted the family when she passed on. The husband was rudely hit by the reality of his beloved wife’s death on arrival at the ward!