Grief and Allegations: Lawyer Calls Out UMTH Over Father’s Death, Sparks Debate

Abuja Lawyer Accuses UMTH of Negligence, Blames Hospital for Father’s Death
Controversy Trails UMTH as Lawyer Warns Public Against Seeking Treatment There

Abuja-based lawyer slams UMTH over alleged negligence in father’s death, warns public against seeking treatment at teaching hospital
Hassan Taiye

An Abuja-based lawyer, Nuhu Dantani Hamza, has publicly criticised the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), alleging gross negligence and poor standards of care which he claims contributed to the death of his father.

In a strongly worded Facebook post, Hamza warned members of the public against seeking treatment at the facility, describing it as substandard and plagued by serious lapses in professionalism.
Recounting a recent encounter, Hamza said he discouraged an acquaintance from taking his ailing father to the hospital.
“I told him, death is from Allah. But if you want death while the person is still alive, then you can take him to that hospital,” he wrote.
He further alleged:
“It is a hospital where there is no care except if you are on the way to death. Some of its staff are not professionals. Right now, we have special cases with them.”
However, his claims were challenged by a commenter, RCHP Alhaji Modu Kellu, who identified himself as a product of UMTH and defended the institution.
“You don’t have adequate knowledge of the health sector. You should research the expertise of UMTH and its staff,” Kellu stated.
“Medical professionals trained at UMTH are equipped with skills, experience, zeal, and a sense of dignity. The administration is strict on staff attendance and quality patient care.”
He added that he personally witnessed the competence of the hospital’s personnel when his brother received treatment there.
“Barrister, I advise you to assess the facility objectively before criticising it in the media. In Nigeria, many people simply want preferential treatment,” he said.
Responding to the defence, Hamza provided a detailed account of his father’s treatment at the hospital, highlighting what he described as a series of medical failures.
According to him, his father was admitted in early February 2026 and remained at the hospital for nearly 10 days without a meaningful review by a doctor or a clear diagnosis.
He alleged that it was only after he arrived from Abuja and personally intervened that his father was attended to and later transferred to the amenity ward.
Hamza further claimed that over a five-day period, his father developed severe abdominal distension, constipation, persistent vomiting, and breathing difficulties, yet no abdominal X-ray or ultrasound scan was conducted.
He also alleged that a nasogastric tube, intended strictly for decompression, was improperly used by nursing staff to administer approximately one litre of pap, contrary to medical instructions.
According to him, no diagnostic imaging was carried out throughout the admission, and an X-ray was only requested hours before his father’s death when his oxygen saturation reportedly dropped below 60 per cent.
His father died on March 31, 2026, in Amenity Ward “B”.
“There are indeed many more disturbing details. If this does not amount to a complete breakdown of professional medical care, one is left to ask: what then is the justification?” Hamza stated.