Late Chizoba Oguzie’s brother has recounted how Lagos state police and a private hospital extorted an exorbitant amount from the family, not minding the family’s bereavement and the situation surrounding the tragic passing of Chizoba.
Chizoba Oguzie, a hairdresser who recently relocated from Dubai to start life in Lagos, Nigeria, reportedly lost her life on March 18, 2025, after a water tank collapsed from the building and landed on her bed where she was sleeping. The incident occurred at the Number 7, View Avenue, Chevron area of Lagos, where she was a tenant.
Amarachi Oguzie, the elder brother of the deceased who lives in the United States, has lamented the impact of the incident on their family and how a private hospital and Lagos police deemed their tragedy as an opportunity for extortion.
Amarachi told PUNCH that the incident was beyond tragedy, describing it as a devastating example of institutional negligence and extortion.
“She didn’t even get a chance to scream for help. Just like that, she was gone, “She went to bed expecting to wake up, but she never did. She didn’t deserve this. No one does”. Amarachi lamented.
He said the water had collapsed during the day while Amarachi was at work, but the full tank smashed through the building’s roof and landed directly on her bed while she was asleep. Despite neighbours’ efforts to save her life, she was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby hospital.
In a devastating turn of events, Amarachi alleged that despite the hospital having attested that she was dead on arrival, they still demanded the sum of N250,000 before the body would leave the hospital, insisting it was the hospital’s standard.
“I asked, ‘Why are you charging this money when she was brought in dead?’ The doctor said it was hospital policy. I didn’t want her body to start decaying, so I paid immediately,” Amarachi said.
The hospital made the matter more complicated when they demanded that a police report must be brought before the corpse will be released. When Favour Nnanna — the lady who sublet the apartment to Chizoba — volunteered to help obtain the police report, the extortion allegedly continued.
“She went to the police station, but the officers there demanded N100,000 just to let her make a statement,” Amarachi said.
“When I asked for an official account number to pay, they refused and told me to send the money to a PoS operator’s account”. Amarachi said he had no choice but to comply, as the delay compounded the family’s grief.
The family’s attempts to reach the actual owner of the property where the tragedy occurred had been unsuccessful.
