Akinbobola Akintunde Folajimi, the heartbroken husband of late Kemi Folajimi—a pregnant woman who tragically lost her life during labour—has come forward with a deeply emotional and disturbing account of what transpired on the day of her death. In a revealing interview with The Punch Newspapers, Folajimi opened up about the tragic events, claiming that the hospital where his wife was rushed to allegedly refused to treat her until he made a full deposit of N500,000.
According to the grieving husband, upon their arrival at the unnamed private hospital located in Lakowe, Lagos, the doctors on duty performed a quick check on his wife and then turned to him with a demand for a hefty deposit before proceeding with any form of medical intervention. Folajimi stated that despite the urgency of his wife’s condition and his desperate pleas for help, the hospital staff remained unmoved until the complete payment was made.
“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,” he recalled during the interview.
Folajimi, a local farmer by profession, revealed that at the time of the incident, he had only about N80,000 in his account. Despite this, he passionately appealed to the hospital to begin treating his wife while he scrambled to raise the balance. He offered to sell all his livestock—goats, rabbits, chickens, turkeys—and even assured the medical staff that he would reach out to relatives and friends for financial support. Still, his cries and promises reportedly fell on deaf ears.
“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,” he recounted painfully.
Seeing that he could not raise the money on the spot, the hospital allegedly referred him and his wife to Epe General Hospital—located over 40 minutes away. The very mention of the referral hospital’s name reportedly broke his wife’s spirit. She was weak, in excruciating pain, and aware of how far the journey would be.
“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,” Folajimi lamented.
The tragic death of Kemi Folajimi has triggered widespread anger and sorrow across social media platforms. Nigerians have expressed deep outrage over the refusal of medical professionals to act swiftly in emergencies without upfront payments. Many human rights advocates and healthcare commentators are calling for immediate government intervention to regulate hospital policies and ensure that no one is ever denied life-saving treatment over financial constraints again.
This case has become another painful reminder of the ongoing challenges within Nigeria’s healthcare system, where a lack of compassion and policy enforcement continues to cost innocent lives.