The Abuja music community is reeling after the sudden death of singer Ifunanya, fatally bitten by a snake at her Lugbe home on Tuesday morning. Sam C. Ezugwu, director of the Amemuso Choir where she belonged, in a long post on X, has given a heart-wrenching account of her final hours.
“At 10:13 a.m., Stephanie sent a message to our WhatsApp group: ‘Good morning, please is anyone around Jabi or FMC? It’s urgent.’ I immediately called her, and she told me Ifunanya had been bitten by a snake,” Sam recounted.
He quickly alerted Vincent, one of the choir’s emergency-response members, and headed to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) with Paschal, Ifunanya’s closest friend.
“When we arrived, she was struggling to breathe. She couldn’t speak, but tried to communicate with her hands.
Doctors were already giving her oxygen and antivenom. One of them confirmed she had told them she saw a grey snake bite her wrist,” Sam said. Her uncle, Mr. Joseph, was also present, anxiously watching the medical team work.
With the hospital running out of Neostigmine, Sam and Vincent raced to a nearby pharmacy to secure the medication. “As we were leaving, I noticed she seemed to have stopped breathing, but the doctors were still trying. I had hope, but it was fading fast. When Chiamaka called back, she said the doctors were doing resuscitation. Minutes later, we were told she had passed away,” Sam said, his voice breaking.
Neighbors later described a desperate attempt to save her. “She was bitten while sleeping, and the neighbors tied her wrist to slow the venom. She ran 500 metres to the estate gate, took a motorcycle, and headed to the hospital,” one neighbor said. Divine Health Hospital, her first stop, had no antivenom and referred her to FMC.
Ifunanya’s body was later embalmed and transported to Enugu, her hometown, after a blessing at Guardian Angel Catholic Chapel, Lugbe.
Sam described the scene: “We cried, prayed, screamed, but she could no longer hear us. The emergency ward was filled with choir members and friends, all devastated.”
A snake handler later confirmed the presence of a medium-sized cobra in her room, alongside two other snakes nearby. “It was shocking to see the snake that took her life. We are still in disbelief,” Sam added.
