Nizamiye Hospital denies withholding surgery from ex-Senator Kontagora

Nizamiye Hospital, Abuja, has refuted reports that it withheld life-saving surgery from former Senator Ibrahim Musa Kontagora over an alleged payment shortfall, insisting no such procedure was ever scheduled.

Kontagora, who represented Niger North Senatorial District between 2011 and 2015, died at the facility after spending more than a week in a coma. Reports by an online platform had alleged that the hospital delayed surgery because the family failed to settle a $30,000 bill in full.

Speaking by phone, the hospital’s Public Relations Officer, Mohammed Abubakar, said the only procedure performed was a shunt to address blood clotting, which was successfully completed. He explained that the subsequent medical recommendation — stem cell therapy — was not carried out at Nizamiye and was unrelated to any unpaid bills.

“There was no surgery planned after the shunt. The advice to consider stem cell treatment came from the doctors, but we do not perform such therapy in-house,” Abubakar said. “It’s managed by foreign specialists. Our role is limited to connecting interested families with them.”

The hospital maintained that stem cell arrangements are coordinated externally and denied receiving or requesting any partial payment for the procedure.

“There’s no record of $15,000 being paid for stem cell treatment or any outstanding balance,” Abubakar stated. “The family still has funds in the patient’s hospital account. Anyone claiming otherwise should provide proof.”

Nizamiye stressed that no advance payment was required for any in-house treatment after the shunt surgery and described the online report as misleading.