UNTH Denies Giving Deceased Lady’s Children To Unknown Persons
THECONSCIENCE NG reports that the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu State, has denied allegations contained in a viral video claiming that it handed over the three children of a deceased patient to unknown individuals.
The video, recorded within the hospital premises, alleged that a woman identified as Chinyere Jennifer James died during surgery at the facility. It further claimed that hospital staff gave her children to unidentified persons after they were unable to locate their father or relatives reportedly giving one child to a pastor and two others to a woman.
UNTH Reacts to the Allegation
Reacting to the viral video, UNTH stated that the hospital had no involvement whatsoever in the alleged act. However, it confirmed that the woman indeed died during surgery and that her body had been deposited in the hospital morgue, awaiting collection by her family.
The hospital’s Public Relations Officer, Boniface Uchelue, dismissed the allegations in an interview with The Guardian, insisting that no hospital staff gave out the children.
“The lady in question unfortunately died during surgery. But while she was alive in the facility, a caregiver who was attending to another patient was relating with her. When she died, this same caregiver took custody of her children. It has nothing to do with us. She took them away out of sympathy, following the unfortunate death of their mother,” he explained.
Uchelue further clarified that the deceased’s children were not registered with the hospital and had already been “bonding with this caregiver” before their mother’s death.
He described the allegations linking UNTH to child trafficking or illegal adoption as false and unfair, emphasizing that the hospital “did not engage in any negotiation on how the children should be taken care of.”
Previous Controversy
The viral video comes amid recent negative publicity surrounding UNTH following the death of Charity Unachukwu, who reportedly died after a vehicle accident due to alleged negligence by hospital staff.
Her relative, Phina Ezeagwu, had accused the hospital of incompetence in a social media post, claiming that Charity died after waiting more than 12 hours without medical attention.
She wrote that “nothing is working at UNTH, not even control of junior staff.”
Responding to the allegations at the time, the hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Prof. Obinna Onodugo, described the claims as serious and assured that an investigation would be conducted.
