Woman loses kidney after C-section in Gombe hospital — family demands justice

A middle-aged woman, Mrs Barira Alhassan, went into State Specialist Hospital in Gombe for a caesarean section on April 8, 2026, with all her organs intact. But days after the operation, she fell seriously ill — vomiting, stomach pain, body swelling, and pain when urinating. When a doctor examined her, he told her she had only one kidney and even asked if she had sold it.

The hospital management has denied the allegation, calling it "completely false" and claiming that a CT-IVU scan done at a Federal Teaching Hospital showed findings consistent with a congenital absence of one kidney — meaning she was born with one kidney. But the family is not buying it. Her brother, Zakaria Alhassan, told BBC News Pidgin that a scan done in 2015 showed she had two healthy kidneys. On top of that, when the family asked for her medical records, the hospital said they could not find any record belonging to her.

How does a woman who has given birth ten times at the same hospital suddenly have no medical records? The family has petitioned the Gombe State Ministry of Health, but they say the ministry asked them to keep the matter quiet until an investigation is completed. Mrs Barira Alhassan wants justice — she wants a proper investigation to explain how she lost her kidney. Will the truth ever come out?