Controversy has trailed the death of a chef, Ogechukwu Ochiagha, in Enugu State.
She was said to have died after battling ailments her friends identified as neurofibromatosis and spinal tumour. The woman had reportedly been sick for over 10 months.
Her death, however, became public knowledge following an online outburst by one of her distraught friends, Can Mbanefo.
The aggrieved friend explained that when Ogechukwu’s health was deteriorating, an appeal was made and N200,000 raised for a minor surgery at the 82 Division Military Hospital in Enugu State, which was done.
According to Mbanefo, the surgery was to drain an abscess to prepare her for the main surgery that would cost about N4 million.
Mbanefo said efforts were on to raise funds for the second surgery at the Memfys Hospital when a Catholic community-based in Italy took interest in Ogechukwu’s condition and raised money for the operation.
However, when representatives of the Catholic community contacted Ogechukwu, whose phone number was attached to the widely-circulated message appealing for funds online, Mbanefo claimed that she declined the offer on the grounds of her faith.
“Oge told them it was against her Jehovah’s Witnesses faith to collect money from Catholic Church,” he wrote on Facebook.
The friend explained that he called Ogechukwu and she confirmed that she rejected the offer, adding that efforts to convince her to accept the offer proved abortive.
He stated, “To cut the long story short, when one of the guys from Italy called her again, she still rejected the offer from the Catholic community.
“She then told the brother that he could send his personal money to her instead of sending the donation from the church. Eventually, out of pity and for the sake of humanity, the brother sent something to her from his personal account.
“Meanwhile, it was Oge who chatted me and asked if I could link her up with any NGO. But when NGO came, her Jehovah’s Witnesses teachings could not allow her to notice them.”
Following Ogechukwu’s death on January 11, Mbanefo, who was enraged about the development, made the post on his page.
Pictures of the deceased on her sickbed were attached to the post. She looked frail.
Mixed reactions, however, greeted Mbanefo’s account of the events preceding the chef’s death.
While some people expressed disappointment at her reason for rejecting the offer that they said might save her life, others, particularly her relatives, denied the report that she died due to her religious belief.
One Chizoba Okafor, who claimed to be the deceased’s cousin, stated that Ogechukwu’s condition worsened after she received treatment for the wrong diagnosis.
He added, “Jehovah’s Witnesses did not kill my sister. Please, this is not the time to throw insults at her because going through all your comments hurts like hell.
“The person that started this post forgot to mention that when she became sick the hospital that started treating her, she was giving her tuberculosis drugs which were way off from what was wrong with her.
“Even when my mum who worked in the hospital asked the doctor, he was not even completely sure of the test that was conducted on her and he went ahead to administer tuberculosis drugs on her. And those drugs made more damage.”
The deceased’s sister, Amaka, also refuted Mbanefo’s claim.
“That was not what happened; I know she had been receiving money from people throughout when she was in the hospital. She slimmed down a lot and the doctors said they could not operate on her unless she gained weight,” Punch quoted her as saying on Tuesday.
“She was always in constant pain and was battling a lot of things. She had a spinal cord injury and her lipid shifted from the waist. She had her first operation on December 25, at 81 Division Military Hospital.
“Why she didn’t have the major operation was because she slimmed down a lot; we were trying for her to gain weight before this thing happened yesterday.”
Regarding the offer her sister reportedly rejected, Amaka said, “I am not aware of that. Nothing like that happened.”
Source: Punch
