I lost my pregnant wife after Lagos hospital refused to attend to her because I couldn’t afford N500, 000 upfront deposit, grieving husband
Raymond Osho
A farmer, Akinbobola Folajimi, has shared his painful experience with of how his late pregnant wife and her unborn child died in a private hospital in Lagos, due to the hospital’s refusal to provide emergency care without an upfront deposit of N500,000.
According to the bereaved husband, his wife, a 31-year-old teacher and small-scale business owner, was in critical condition after complications arose during a home birth assisted by a midwife.
In an interview with Punch online, Folajimi disclosed that despite the urgency of the situation the hospital refused to attend to her without the substantial deposit, citing financial constraints.
“I pleaded with them to start treatment while I raised the money, but they refused,” Folajimi recounted.
Still grappling with the traumatic experience, he said “We had to rush her to another hospital in Epe, but it was too late. She passed away in the car, and I was left with nothing but grief and anger.”
“I lost my wife over N500,000. If the hospital had attended to her immediately, she would still be alive today. The baby would be alive too.”
” My wife was a teacher, a very brilliant one. She taught at a school and also offered private home lessons. In addition, she ran a small-scale business, selling fabrics such as Ankara, etc.
“We had two beautiful daughters. Our first was born over eight years ago, and our second, six years ago. After our second daughter, we made a firm decision not to have another child.
“The economy was tough, and we wanted to give our two girls the best life we could. It was a decision we both agreed on; two children were enough. Then, unexpectedly, she got pregnant again.
“We were preparing for our joy – our baby boy was coming. Everything was in place, and we had made all the necessary arrangements. She told me about a midwife close to our house, just in case labour started at night. We didn’t have a car, and the hospital was quite far. It seemed like a good plan.
“knew the midwife. I had heard many testimonies about her. In fact, our second daughter was delivered by her, and countless women had successfully given birth under her care. She would go long distances for medical check-ups, scans, and antenatal care. She was meticulous about her health.
“Up until the 20th of February 2025, she was perfectly fine. My wife was not sick; she had no underlying health conditions. She was strong, glowing, and full of life, he added.
“We had bought the baby’s clothes and prepared everything for his arrival. She took her medications faithfully and exercised when needed. Sometimes, we did it together. She never missed her antenatal appointments. There were no warning signs.”
” The night before, she told me, “I’m going to have this baby tomorrow.” I laughed and asked, “How do you know?” She smiled and said, “Don’t worry.” I didn’t argue. I am not a woman; I didn’t know how these things worked.”
” But one thing was sure: I was always present. Every time she was pregnant, I made sure I was never far from home. I was there when our first daughter was born. I was there for our second, and for this one, I had no reason to believe it would be any different.
“But that morning, when I woke up, she had gone to the midwife’s place. She didn’t wake me; she had cleaned the house, fetched water from the well, and made sure everything was in order.”
” I thought she was just keeping herself active, preparing for the big day. When I asked our daughters where their mother had gone, they told me she had left for the midwife’s place”.
What happened when you got to the midwife’s place?
Folajimi disclosed “When I arrived at the midwife’s place, I immediately noticed that my wife was already in labour. At first, it seemed like our usual experience, nothing out of the ordinary. As expected, they sent me to get a few things, even though we had already bought everything in advance.
“But then, something felt different. It was taking too long. An hour had passed, and she was still struggling. From my past experiences, I knew that once labour started, the baby usually followed within 20 to 30 minutes. But this time, the minutes stretched endlessly.
“I started feeling uneasy. At first, I told myself, “Maybe it’s because this one is a boy.” But as time went on, my worry deepened. I watched my wife fight through each contraction, her strength fading with every push. She looked exhausted – too exhausted.
“I turned to the midwife. “Mama, what is going on?” I asked, my voice laced with fear. I could see the stress on my wife’s face, the pain in her eyes. This wasn’t like before. When I asked her how she was feeling, her response was weak, almost lifeless. My heart pounded.
“I couldn’t take it anymore. “We need to go to the hospital,” I said urgently. Thankfully, our neighbour had a car, and we rushed her to the nearest hospital. Even in the car, she was still speaking, still holding on. But I could see she was slipping.
“I made up my mind. I didn’t care what it would take – even if she needed a C-section – we had to do whatever was necessary to save her and the baby.
“When we arrived at the hospital, the doctors checked her and then turned to me, saying that we needed to deposit N500,000 before they could proceed.
My heart dropped. I told them I didn’t have N500,000 at the moment, but I promised them – I swore – I would raise it before the end of the day. I had some money in my account, about N80,000.
“I had a small farm at home with goats, rabbits, chickens, and turkeys. I was ready to sell everything. I even thought of calling my family and hers if the money wouldn’t be enough after selling the animals. But the hospital didn’t listen.
“They refused. Unmoved, they said they wouldn’t touch her without that N500,000. I pleaded, I cried, I begged them to start treatment while I found the money, but they shook their heads.
“Then I asked them, ‘Where else can we go?’ One of the doctors mentioned a hospital in Epe. My stomach twisted. Lakowe to Epe is at least a 40-minute drive, if not more, and time was running out.
“We live near Lakowe School Gate, so he told me to start heading to Epe. The moment my wife heard ‘Epe’, I could hear the disappointment in her voice. Weak and in pain, she said it was too far. She kept telling me this, and I kept telling the doctors, but they wouldn’t listen.
“I begged and pleaded, but they refused to reconsider. I started feeling like I had wasted too much time trying to convince them. They weren’t going to listen. They were already pushing her out of the wheelchair, forcing us out of the ward,” he added.
