Lagos orders autopsy as nine-month-old twins die after routine immunisation

The Lagos State Government has ordered a postmortem examination on nine-month-old identical twins, Testimony and Timothy Alozie, who reportedly died about 24 hours after receiving routine immunisation at a primary healthcare centre in the state.

The incident drew public attention after the twins’ father, Samuel Alozie, popularly known as Promise Samuel on TikTok, shared videos online showing the bodies of his children in separate body bags, while alleging that they died shortly after being vaccinated.

In a follow-up video that went viral on Thursday, Alozie said he took the twins for routine immunisation on the morning of December 24, 2025. According to him, the children became unusually weak immediately after the injections.

“They could not eat, they could not play, they could not even disturb as they used to. They were just weak,” he said.

Alozie stated that a nurse at the health facility advised him to administer paracetamol if the babies developed a fever. He said he and his wife followed the advice and also bathed the children in cold water, but their condition continued to deteriorate.

He explained that the twins died on the morning of December 25, barely a day after the immunisation, adding that both children passed away at the same time.

“They were very healthy before the injection. After the immunisation, they became so weak that they couldn’t eat, play or behave normally,” he said.

The grieving father said he had consistently ensured that the twins received all routine vaccines from birth and expressed confusion over their sudden deaths.

“How can I lose two children at once? They were just nine months old and not sick. I only took them for immunisation because I wanted to do the right thing,” he said.

Alozie also raised concerns that the nurse who administered the injections was not the regular health worker who usually attended to his children. He dismissed initial explanations from the health centre suggesting that the deaths might have been caused by food-related bacteria.

“How can food bacteria suddenly kill my children? They have been eating the same food for months without any issue,” he said.

Reacting to the incident, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, Dr. Ibrahim Mustafa, said investigations were ongoing and that a postmortem examination had been ordered.

He said the government sympathised with the family and was awaiting the outcome of the autopsy to determine the cause of death.

“The matter is being investigated by the police, and we are also conducting our own investigation as a state. We are expecting the postmortem findings,” Mustafa said, noting that the same vaccines had been administered to many other children without similar incidents.

According to him, the bodies of the twins were deposited at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital morgue and the findings of the investigation would be made public once concluded.

“Once the postmortem findings are out, we will communicate appropriately,” he said.

However, Alozie expressed fears that the investigation could be influenced to protect the government-owned health facility. He appealed for legal and human rights support, saying he lacked the resources to pursue justice on his own.

“I need help. I want justice for my children,” he pleaded.