Tragedy in Kano: Consultant physician collapses, dies 15 minutes after arriving to treat patients
Tragedy struck the medical community and patients alike last Saturday when a senior consultant physician, identified simply as Dr. Ibrahim, collapsed and died just 15 minutes after arriving at a hospital to attend to eagerly waiting patients.
The heartbreaking incident occurred at Arewa Surgery Hospital, located in the Hotoro area of Kano State. Dr. Ibrahim had stepped in at short notice to cover for a colleague who was unavailable for his scheduled evening clinic.
A long wait turns into tragedy
The harrowing account was shared publicly by Suleiman Abdullahi Harbo, an aide to the Jigawa State governor, who witnessed the unfolding tragedy while accompanying his elderly mother to the hospital.
According to Harbo, they arrived at the facility around 5:00 PM for an appointment with a consultant physician. Upon arrival, staff informed them that their scheduled doctor would not be coming, but recommended Dr. Ibrahim as a replacement.
As the evening wore on, about six patients—most of them over 80 years old—grew weary from the wait. This prompted Harbo to check in with the reception desk. The receptionist placed a phone call to Dr. Ibrahim, notifying him that several elderly patients were waiting to see him. The physician kindly assured them he would head over immediately after observing his Maghrib (evening) prayers.
“Within 15 minutes, he was confirmed dead”
True to his word, Dr. Ibrahim arrived shortly after his prayers. However, the moment he stepped out of his vehicle, tragedy struck. The doctor reportedly became dizzy and suddenly collapsed in the hospital premises.
Medical personnel rushed to the scene, wheeling the consultant straight into the hospital’s emergency unit. Despite a frantic battle by his peers to save his life, their efforts proved futile.
“Within 15 minutes, he was confirmed dead,” Harbo recounted, describing the sudden loss as shocking and profoundly painful.
The atmosphere in the hospital quickly shifted from anticipation to utter devastation for both the staff and the waiting patients.
“The painful irony was this: all the patients waiting to see him were above 80 years of age, while about five senior consultant doctors fought to save him, yet all of them broke down in tears,” Harbo noted.
Initially unaware of the chaos in the emergency room, Harbo’s mother asked her son if the doctor had finally arrived. Before he could answer, another patient gently broke the news that the physician they had been waiting for had just passed away.
Upon hearing the tragic news, Harbo’s mother immediately offered prayers for the deceased doctor.
“‘Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un (Surely to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return). So that was the doctor they rushed inside? May Allah have mercy on him. Let us just go home. I am already healed,’ she said.”
Harbo disclosed that he struggled to fight back tears as he drove his mother back home. He also revealed that witnesses present during the doctor’s final moments shared that his last audible words were the Islamic declaration of faith: “La ilaha illallah.”
Describing the experience as an unforgettable loss, the governor’s aide prayed for Almighty Allah to forgive Dr. Ibrahim’s shortcomings and grant him Al-Jannah Firdaus (the highest paradise).
As of the time of this report, the exact medical cause of Dr. Ibrahim’s sudden collapse and subsequent death remains unknown.
