BREAKING: Student Nurse Suspended For Viral Video Exposing Enugu General Hospital Without Light, Water, Oxygen
The original report shared by healthcare workers at the facility painted a picture of a “death trap” rather than a hospital.
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.
Now, the question remains whether the state government will uphold the suspension or act to protect the healthcare worker who forced the government to finally “fix” the facility.
“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.
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 🤦🏾♂️
— Obidaddy ya. (@paulobijiofor) April 2, 2026
“Almost all facilities in Enugu is (sic) in this pathetic state. Rather than do the right thing, they punish the one who calls out these wrong. I remember last year Sept 11, surgeries were cancelled in Parklane due to lack of oxygen. A teaching hospital o at that,” @Favour_Sparkle3 wrote.
“This is not a country, in 2026 a third world country should not be this bad, abi you have moved to a fourth world country?” @S_I_M_P_L_E_3 wrote.
“All this government wants to hear is hyping them for building substandard Roads using taxpayers’ money,” @OgechukwuC42040 wrote.
Meanwhile, while SaharaReporters efforts to get official reaction from the State Commissioner for Health, Prof George Ugwu, were unsuccessful as he did not answer his calls, an official in the ministry who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the indefinite suspension.
“What the student nurse did was against the civil service rules. Even if what they observed in their place of work was true, there’s a channel to report it,” the official said.
