Description
Governor Peter Mbah’s administration is facing a backlash following the indefinite suspension of a student nurse who went viral for exposing the dilapidated state of Uwani General Hospital in Enugu.
The nurse, in a tearful follow-up video shared on TikTok and X (formerly Twitter), confirmed that she has been barred from her clinical duties and removed from the hospital's workforce as punishment for "whistle-blowing."
The controversy began in late March 2026, when the nurse recorded a video documenting the harrowing conditions at the state-owned facility.
Two nurses in the footage lamented that medical staff work in total darkness due to a lack of electricity, an absence of running water, and the lack of basic life-saving equipment like oxygen, even while managing a pregnant woman in labour.
"I’m the girl that posted about the hospital at Uwani… Sadly, I was given an indefinite suspension and removed from my clinical duties," she lamented in the new video seen by SaharaReporters on Thursday. "Did we do anything wrong? We only wanted to bring their attention to the problems… and now we’re being punished badly."
While the Enugu State Government initially reacted to the viral video by querying the hospital management and reportedly fixing some of the highlighted issues, the focus has shifted from infrastructure to victimising the whistle-blower.
Despite the hospital claiming the "rot" has been addressed, the management has refused to reinstate the nurse, sparking outrage among rights activists who describe the move as a "classic Nigerian story" of punishing those who expose systemic failure.
The original report shared by healthcare workers at the facility painted a picture of a "death trap" rather than a hospital.
The indefinite suspension has placed Governor Mbah in the eye of a storm, with many calling on him to intervene and protect the young nurse from "administrative tyranny."
"This is a government-owned hospital. It's very poor that it lacks light, water, or oxygen to give birth," the nurses had initially lamented."I don't even know the role of Labour Union. As usual, they prefer silencing this lady rather than acknowledging and rewarding her for her speaking up. I wonder when we would get things right in this country," @paulobijiofor wrote while reacting to the trending video
Details
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State/CountryEnugu
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PerpetratorThe hospital Management
Location
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Enugu, Nigeria
