About a week ago, when 33-year-old Faith Odaudu-Ogunleye walked into St Raphael Divine Mercy Specialist Hospital, a Catholic Archdiocese facility along Cele Bus Stop, Ijede Road, Ikorodu, to deliver her second child, it was meant to herald hope, relief and new beginnings. For her husband, Johnson, who accompanied her with quiet anticipation, it was supposed to be a shared moment of joy, the start of another chapter in their young family’s life. Instead, it became their final journey together.
What should have ended in celebration has now dissolved into grief, anger and a community-wide outcry, following allegations that Faith bled to death due to negligence, poor medical judgment, and what her family describes as a disturbing lack of urgency from hospital staff. Visibly shaken and struggling through tears, Johnson alleged that his wife’s life could have been saved if the medical team had acted promptly and responsibly.
“My wife died because of negligence,” he said. “The doctors did not place any value on her life. They allowed her to keep bleeding.” His anguish now echoes across Ikorodu, where residents, friends and family members have protested, accusing the hospital of repeated failures and demanding accountability.
Placards held by demonstrators captured the depth of frustration and fear within the community: “St Raphael, pack up and leave Ikorodu, we are tired of losing our people,” “You failed us, we demand justice,” and “St Raphael is a slaughterhouse, Ikorodu residents are not safe.”
One of the protesters, Sharon Michael, who identified herself as the deceased’s sister, gave a harrowing account of the events leading to Faith’s death, raising serious questions about the hospital’s handling of her condition. “Faith was 33. She came here to give birth, full of life,” she said. “She delivered successfully last week, and we were already preparing for the naming ceremony.” According to her, the family had even concluded arrangements for the child’s naming ceremony, scheduled for Tuesday, April 28, 2026, an event that was eventually held without the mother.
“We named the baby this morning, but without her. That is the painful reality we are facing,” she added. Sharon alleged that complications began after delivery, when the hospital requested multiple units of blood, which the family provided. “We bought over four pints of blood, yet she kept bleeding. Blood was still coming out abnormally,” she said.
She further claimed that an independent doctor later discovered that Faith’s bladder had been cut during a Caesarean section but was not properly repaired. “When our doctor examined her, he said it was a serious mistake. If the bladder was cut, it should have been stitched immediately. But they told us it would heal on its own,” she alleged.
The situation reportedly deteriorated until Monday, when the family insisted on transferring her to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). Even then, Sharon claimed, the hospital delayed the transfer while demanding additional payments. “They were asking for money for an ambulance and oxygen while she was dying. We were begging them to let us take her first,” she said.
Faith, however, did not survive the journey. “Before we got to LUTH, she died. We had to bring her body back here,” she said. According to the family, what followed deepened their outrage. “In a most embarrassing manner, they told us we had to pay before they could deposit her body in the morgue. No apology, no compassion, nothing. They have shown no remorse,” Sharon added.
The protest drew a large crowd of aggrieved residents, many of whom claimed to have had similar troubling experiences at the facility, fuelling calls for urgent intervention. Johnson disclosed that the family’s legal team would formally petition the hospital, demanding a full explanation of the circumstances surrounding Faith’s death.
He also called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Senator Tokunbo Abiru and other relevant authorities to launch an immediate and transparent investigation into the hospital’s operations. “This cannot continue. Too many people have complained about this hospital. The government must step in before more lives are lost,” he said.
Responding to the protesters, the hospital’s chaplain, Rev. Fr Joe Ben Onyia, expressed shock over the incident and assured that management would investigate the matter. However, for many in Ikorodu, that assurance falls short. Their demand is clear and urgent: accountability, justice for Faith, and decisive government action to prevent what they fear could become a recurring tragedy.
