Kano’s urology centre under scrutiny amid negligence claims

By Lukman Abdulmalik

In the case of Garba Usman, a 56 year-old father of seven, visiting a doctor ought to have been an initiative of hope. Rather it has turned into a torturous process of distress, failure and dejection.

In September 2024, Usman experienced a serious urinary complication and attended Abubakar Imam Urology Centre in Kano to be treated.

What used to be a simple treatment turned out to be months of misery, unsuccessful treatment, and missing medical bills, which left him physically incapacitated and devastated.

Usman tells about his time spent in this hospital, which took him more than a year.

“They worked on me, prescribed me drugs but my health deteriorated.

“The swelling of my bladder between my thighs was so great. I can’t walk properly anymore.

“However, the doctor, Dr. Kabiru continued to prescribe medications without searching my past treatment history or my records.

“At times, he would harass me by telling me that he was doing me a favour with the care he was giving.

“He even told me I should not return for further medical attention.”

The first experience of Usman started at the emergency unit of the hospital where ulceration was done on his urinary catheter, and this resulted in a lot of complications.

The patient was taken into the male ward where he spent months undergoing various therapies with not much success.

“My bladder became rotten and began to emit foul odour after the surgery.

“I needed to go to the hospital accompanied by my family but upon receiving my hospital card, employees did not hand it back.

“They remarked that they would not give it back even after my demise, he said.”

Nonetheless, THE WHISTLER found out that the hospital has a history of seizure of medical cards of patients especially following unsuccessful procedures, which in effect restricts their right to report any incidents to the authorities concerned.

Efforts to reach Dr. Kabiru proved unsuccessful, as hospital staff refused to provide any information about him or his contact details.

A Wife’s Death Amid Alleged Negligence

The Usman medical malpractice is not the end of the story.

One of the Kano residents Abubakar Mohammed lost his wife, Aishatu Umar, a mother of five who had undergone a surgery procedure in the same hospital.

In September 2025, Umar had an operation to take out a left renal cyst.

“After surgery, she began to report about the severe pain, she was feeling something left of her body.

“The hospital reportedly did not take her grievances seriously as they were part of post-operative pain.

“Once her condition deteriorated on 2/01/2026, I had already been at work.

“One of my children called me on phone, and said that she cried in pain.

“I took her to Muhammad Abdullahi Wase, but due to the hospital undergoing some renovations they referred me to perform X-rays at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital.

“X-rays showed that she had surgical scissors left in her.

“Emergency surgery preparations were under process where she unfortunately met her untimely end.

Mohammed narrated his meeting with the surgeon in Abubakar Imam Urology Centre: “Instantly I called the doctor and reported the negligence.

“But he replied, saying that was unfortunate, he made no intervention.

“The management of the hospital only came in to give condolences several hours after she was dead.”

Mohammed told THE WHISTLER after reporting the medical negligence to Abubakar Imam Urology Center, the hospital management requested him to submit Aisha Umar’s medical documents.

But he responded “I am not an illiterate that you can play with my intelligence.”

The relatives of the deceased are now turning to the court for justice.

Responses of Kano State Hospitals Management Board

In response to these allegations, the Executive Secretary of the Kano State Hospitals Management Board Dr. Mansur Mudi Nagoda, promised the people that there is an ongoing investigation on the matter.

“The safety of patients is our priority. We have commissioned an independent, clear, and free investigation of the events at Abubakar Imam Urology Centre.

“When negligence is proved, the right steps would then be taken”, he said.

Legal Consequences of Medical Negligence

Such cases provoke severe questions regarding the legal liability of medical professionals in Nigeria.

Healthcare law professionals argue that the standard of care is one of the legal duties of hospitals, which must avoid causing harm to patients.

The nonobservance of these standards can lead to civil suits, wrongful death situations and the medical personnel involved can face some professional reprisals.

Aisha Bello, a Kano-based medical lawyer and barrister, said that patients were entitled to safe and responsible medical services.

“In case of negligence, hospitals can be subject to pay damages, and those, who are at fault, might be professionally disciplined.

“Taking of medical records is also illegal and may make legal liability worse.

In addition, patient can make a formal complaint before Nigeria’s medical and Dental council (MDCN).

In accordance with the provisions of SECTION 16(2) of the Medical and Dental Practitioner’s Act, the MDCN’S tribunal established by SECTION 15(1) of the Medical and Dental Practitioner’s Act has the authority to do three things when the panel finds a Medical Practitioner guilty of infamous conduct in any professional respect; order the Registrar to strike the person’s name off the register; or suspend a doctor’s license for a period not exceeding six months; or admonish a doctor.

Furthermore, a patient who suffers harm as a result of a healthcare provider’s negligence may file a medical negligence lawsuit against the doctor to recover damages.

Also, patient can proceed to the High Court to sue for negligence and to claim damages.

Public Health Perspective

According to public health analysts, these cases are indicative of institutional flaws in the healthcare system of Nigeria. Dr. Health policy expert, Yusuf Ali has observed that medical errors in Nigeria go unreported since there is poor regulatory control.

Stricter safety measures need to be employed, proper records should be maintained and there should be transparent reporting in the hospitals.

The cost of neglect on human beings is immense as observed in these cases.

It is also stressed by experts that it is important to provide the proper follow-up care, timely referrals, and address the complaints raised by the patients.

Disregarding concerns of a patient or mishandling of a record can easily result in life threatening situations as Dr. Ali said.

A System Under Scrutiny

These cases follow national alarm on patient safety. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian author, claimed her 21-month-old son died in Lagos hospital because of negligence of hospital staff who allegedly overdosed him on anaesthetic medication in treating some infection.

The hospital turned down the claims but the case as well as those in Kano have rekindled discussions on medical responsibility in Nigeria.

To the victims, it is not merely a case of medical malpractice but a case of life, dignity, as well as justice.

This is a report that was published with the aid of Civic Media Lab.