Three patients on life support at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) have died following the disconnection of the hospital’s electricity supply by the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO).
The hospital’s spokesperson, Hauwa Dutse, confirmed the deaths in a statement on Monday. She explained that four patients were on ventilatory support in the Intensive Care Unit when the power was cut, but only one survived.
PUNCH Online gathered that KEDCO disconnected the hospital over an outstanding debt of ₦949.88 million as of August. The company also insisted the facility must settle its August bill of ₦108.95 million within 10 working days or face further sanctions.
“The blackout had a direct impact on patients on life support machines. On that Friday, there were four patients on admission, and due to the power outage, three of them died,” Dutse said.
She added that the matter was resolved after an urgent meeting involving AKTH, KEDCO, and the Kano State Police Command. “The Managing Director immediately directed engineers to reconnect electricity to the hospital,” she said.
In a separate statement, KEDCO’s Head of Corporate Communications, Sani Bala, said technicians had attempted to separate the hospital’s power supply from its residential staff quarters due to alleged wastage but were denied access, leading to the disconnection.
The AKTH management expressed appreciation to the Kano State Commissioner of Police and KEDCO’s leadership for their intervention and support during the crisis
