The Voice Nigeria star, Ifunanya Nwangene, has died at the age of 26 after being bitten by a snake.
BBC Africa reports that the incident occurred at the singer’s apartment in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, and videos shared on social media show someone removing a snake from the address, as people scream: “It’s a cobra.”
One of Nwangene’s friends said that he had been told the singer was asleep when “the snake bite woke her up”. He told the BBC that she went to a hospital, as a nearby clinic did not have any antivenom.
“While they were trying to stabilise her, she could not speak, but she could make hand gestures. She was struggling to breathe,” another friend, Sam Ezugwu, said. Ezugwu claimed the hospital only had one of the two antivenoms needed to treat the singer. He drove to find the second, but returned to the hospital to find his friend had died.
In a statement given to the BBC, the hospital denied that an antivenom had been unavailable. The Federal Medical Centre said: “Our medical staff provided immediate and appropriate treatment, including resuscitation efforts, intravenous fluids, intranasal oxygen, and the administration of polyvalent snake antivenom.”
It said Nwangene had suffered complications due to the bite. “We stand by the quality of care and dedication our team demonstrates daily,” it added.
Nwangene appeared on The Voice Nigeria’s third season in 2021 and impressed the judges with a rendition of Rihanna’s “Take a Bow” at the blind audition. She was planning to perform at her first solo concert later this year, the BBC reports.
She was also a part of the Amemuso Choir. A post on its Facebook page said: “A rising star, Ifunanya was on the cusp of sharing her incredible talent with the world. Her voice and spirit will be deeply missed.”
Fans have shared their condolences in the comments, with one writing: “Farewell our superstar. May your beautiful soul rest in heaven forever.”
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“So unfortunate! May the good Lord rest her soul,” said another.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 435,000 and 580,000 snakebites require treatment in Africa each year.
Local media in Nigeria reports that there are around 2,000 deaths per year in the country due to venomous snakebites – making it one of the worst-affected countries in the world. Data is believed to be incomplete as many incidents in rural communities go unreported.
Nigeria’s healthcare system is ranked 187th out of 191 by the WHO, and was recently criticised by author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who was left devastated after her one-year-old son died last month at a hospital in Lagos, following a short period of illness.
