“Nigeria Failed You,” Brother Says as Singer Ifunanya Dies After Hospital Rejections

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Summary: Singer Ifunanya Nwangene died on Saturday, January 31, 2026, after Nigerian hospitals failed to provide antivenom for a snake bite. Her brother, Kingsley Nwangene, revealed on Sunday, February 1, 2026, that she was turned away from Divine Health Hospital in Lugbe, Abuja, due to a lack of antivenom and later died at the Federal Medical Centre after doctors removed the tourniquet she had tied to stop the venom from spreading.

Singer Ifunanya Nwangene has died after Nigerian hospitals failed to provide antivenom for a snake bite that occurred in her sleep.

Her brother, Kingsley Nwangene, also known as Emy Kaybaba, shared a detailed account of his sister’s final hours in a series of posts on Instagram on Sunday, February 1, 2026. He stated that she called him at 8:30 am on Saturday, January 31, 2026, to inform him she had been bitten by a snake.

“Ify called me yesterday morning at about 8:30 am. She says, ‘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 come because I was in shock. She says she was sleeping and felt pain when she opened her eyes. She saw the snake,’ Kingsley wrote.

He stated that he immediately got on the phone with her and remained connected throughout her journey to find treatment. Kingsley revealed that his sister first went to Divine Health Hospital on Trade Mall Road in Lugbe, Abuja, where staff immediately told her they did not have antivenom and could not help her. 

He stated that while all this was happening, he never hung up the phone, and she was speaking fine with him. She had tied her hand to prevent the venom from spreading and was in a ride headed to the  Federal Medical Centre, Abuja.

“We got to the next hospital some minutes to 10 am, at which point she was still speaking with me. When she got to the second hospital, she went into the emergency department, and these guys started bombarding her with questions. I was still on call with her, and it was irritating me. I kept saying what are they doing na. I asked if they have the anti-venom, and she said they said they would give her a drip,” Kingsley stated.

He revealed that doctors at FMC removed the tourniquet she had used to tie her hand to prevent the circulation of the venom. Kingsley accused the hospital of lying about his sister’s condition and the timeline of events following her death.

He questioned the doctors’ treatment decisions. “Why did they remove the stuff she tied to prevent the spread of the venom? Told her to calm down and proceed to put a drip. Did they even have the anti-venom at this second hospital?” he asked.

Kingsley stated that the hospital failed his sister and then lied about what happened. “The hospital failed her and doubled down to lie about everything. I hate the country so much,” he wrote. He also posted a tribute stating, “Girl, you were so strong. Even after the snake bite, you took yourself to two hospitals without any help. But the Nigerian hospital did their usual and sent you away because they didn’t have the anti-venom. You fought till the end. Nigeria failed you.”

Ifunanya, 26, gained national attention after competing on Season 3 of The Voice Nigeria, where she turned two judges’ chairs with her rendition of Rihanna’s “Take a Bow.” At the time of her death, she was planning her first solo concert for 2026 and was also a trained architect.

Her death has sparked widespread outrage on social media, with Nigerians condemning the country’s poor emergency response system and the persistent shortage of life-saving drugs in hospitals nationwide.