“She called me…” – Nanyah’s brother debunks viral claims, shares what really happened before singer died

The brother of late Nigerian singer Ifunanya Nwangene, popularly known as Nanyah, has shared a heartbreaking account of her final hours after she died from a snake bite in Abuja.

Her brother, identified as Kingsley Nwangene, described the incident as a painful failure of the country’s healthcare system, insisting that his sister did everything right but was let down at a critical moment.

Snake Bite Incident at Abuja Home

Nanyah was reportedly bitten by a snake at her residence in Abuja on Saturday morning. Despite the shock, she acted fast by tying her hand to slow the spread of venom before heading to the hospital on her own.

Kingsley said she called him around 8:30am to inform him of the incident while she was already on her way to seek medical help.

First Hospital Lacked Anti-Venom

According to Kingsley, Nanyah first went to Divine Health Hospital in Lugbe, Abuja. However, she was told that the hospital did not have anti-venom.

This forced her to immediately book another ride to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abuja, in hopes of getting proper treatment.

Delays at Second Hospital Worsened Condition

Kingsley revealed that he stayed on the phone with his sister throughout the ordeal, trying to reach people who could assist her.

At FMC, Nanyah was taken to the emergency unit, but instead of administering anti-venom immediately, medical staff reportedly asked her several questions. Doctors later removed the cloth tied around her hand and placed her on a drip, asking her to stay calm.

Sadly, her condition began to deteriorate shortly after.

“She Was Conscious and Speaking Clearly” — Brother Reacts

Kingsley dismissed claims that his sister arrived late or could not communicate properly. He said she was conscious when she got to the hospital.

He explained that she later became dizzy and her speech turned unclear, even as family members hoped she was receiving the care she needed. His uncle arrived at the hospital before she passed away.

“Nigeria Failed You” — Family Expresses Anger

Following her death, Kingsley openly expressed his anger and grief, accusing the system of failing his sister.

He described the experience as devastating, saying her death could have been avoided with timely medical intervention.

In his words: “Ify called me yesterday morning, at about 8:30am.
She said, “Emy, don’t panic, but I have just been bitten by a snake. I’m on my way to the hospital.”

I asked her how it happened because I was in shock.
She said she was sleeping and felt pain. When she opened her eyes, she saw the snake.

I realised that wasn’t the time to ask too many questions, so I cut the call and called her back immediately with my smaller phone, using the bigger one to call people I knew in Abuja because she was going to the hospital alone.
Hand tied, just by herself.

Divine Health Hospital,
Trade Mall Road (Lugbe, Abuja).
That was the first hospital she went to.

When she got there, they immediately said they didn’t have the anti-venom and could not help her, so she booked another ride immediately to get to a hospital that might have it.

Note that while all this was happening, I was still on a call with her.
Never hung up.

She was speaking fine with me. Her hand was tied, and she was in a ride headed to Federal Medical Centre, Abuja.
We got to the next hospital some minutes to 10am, at which point she was still speaking with me.

When she got to the second hospital, she went into the emergency department and they started bombarding her with questions.
I was still on the call with her and it was irritating me. I kept saying, what are they doing?

I asked if they had the anti-venom, and she said they told her they would give her a drip.

The doctor removed the stuff she used to tie her hand to prevent the circulation of the venom and kept telling her to calm down.
She immediately told me, “Emy, they have removed the thing I used to tie my hand.”

I felt okay since she was at the hospital and thought the doctors should know better than me. I encouraged her to calm down.

When the drip was in, she started feeling dizzy and her tongue wasn’t speaking well again. That was when I let her relax and ended the call.

At that point, my uncle I had contacted in Abuja was already at the hospital with her, so I felt a bit of relief, thinking she was getting all the treatment she needed.

Now, when they lost her, I started seeing people saying she was bitten at night or the day before but only came yesterday — which was a lie.
Doctors saying she wasn’t talking properly and came in late.

She came in by herself with both legs, without any help. I was speaking with her through it all. She was very audible.

Why did they remove the stuff she tied to prevent the spread of the venom?
Why tell her to calm down and proceed to put a drip?

Did they even have the anti-venom at this second hospital?

The hospital failed her and doubled down to lie about everything.
I hate the country so much.

We had such a great time together in Abuja this past Christmas.
How was I to know it would be the last time with you?

She was still speaking fluently with me and even sent me this video.

“U sang this just because I asked you to.
Now who go sing for me??
Water full my eyes…”

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