I write this column with a heavy heart on the occasion of my country’s 65th Independence Day Anniversary. We must acknowledge the sacrifices it took us to come this far, from those who gave their lives and offered years of dedicated service to ensure that Nigeria is not worse than it is right now. We may not be where we want to be, but the journey has not ended yet.
Still, tragedies like the death of the journalist Somtochukwu Christelle Maduagwu, and the thousands of avoidable tragedies unfolding across the country daily, do not only dampen days like this, when the country should be celebrating a milestone, but continue to shred the already battered optimism Nigerians have about this country.
That optimism we had from commemorating Independence Day as schoolchildren back in the day, standing along the street or in the stadiums with shiny lotioned faces, stiffly pressed uniforms, and hearts full of euphoria to wave past our governors and cheer on the impressive parades all seem so far away now. The children growing up in this generation will only vicariously experience that euphoria through our nostalgic recollection of those days. Sadly, not many Nigerians like to recall those days because it will just retraumatise you over the pains the country has inflicted on us.
Somtochukwu Maduagwu, who died at 29 on Monday morning, somehow retained her optimism for Nigeria. She studied in the UK, returned home to Nigeria, and was enthusiastic about participating in politics because she believed she could contribute to making the country better.
The fact that she died during an armed robbery invasion of her residence in Katampe, Abuja, is shocking enough. What makes it even more painful are the circumstances surrounding this death.
Crime is a universal phenomenon, and there is hardly any society in the world, no matter how wealthy or advanced, that has been able to eradicate it completely. The objective of any well-governed society has always been the mitigation of crime to the barest minimum, and crucially, prompt and effective response to distress calls when crimes happen.
Over the last 65 years of independence, we have not really improved on our crime rates or notably improved our responses to crimes commensurate with our development and population growth.
With increasing access to small arms and light weapons, coupled with increasing social, political, and economic discontent, crime rates over the last 20 years have continued to soar. For example, over the last few months, homicide rates rose by 25 per cent in Q1 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, with 222 tracked cases against 177 previously, according to the Lagos-based Nigeria Risk Index. In February 2025 alone, there were 83 cases recorded. Mind you, this data is limited and often excludes incidents from hard-to-access regions of the country, of which we know there are far too many.
Over the last few months, we have also witnessed an increase in deaths from banditry and insurgency, with the data showing that at least 2,266 people were killed by bandits or insurgents in the first half of 2025, already exceeding last year’s total.
With one out of five surveyed Nigerians reporting that they were victims of crimes (violent and non-violent) in the last year, it is clear that safety is a major concern in the country and we must actively work to curb crime.
What the numbers mean is that criminals have the audacity to colonise parts of the country, as they have done in parts of the Northwest, the Northeast, and the Southeast, or raid huge apartment blocks and take their sweet time breaking in from one apartment to the other, as they did in Katampe in the early hours of Monday, resulting in the death of Somtochukwu and one of the security men protecting the building.
In all these cases, our security responses have been lamentable, sometimes deliberately slow because even our security personnel sometimes fear to confront the criminals, preferring to show up well after the goons have left with their loot. Far too often, their sacrifices for our safety are ignored, and their families left to suffer in vain.
The most heartbreaking part about Ms Maduagwu’s death is the reported decision of the Maitama General Hospital not to treat her immediately when she was eventually brought to the hospital. Reportedly, they refused to do so until identification was provided and they obtained clearance from the police.
The law has been clear about this. Section 20 of The National Health Act (NHA) 2014, for instance, stipulates that every healthcare provider or health establishment is legally prohibited from refusing any person emergency medical treatment for any reason. Failure to comply constitutes a criminal offence, punishable by a fine, imprisonment for up to six months, or both.
The fact that we needed the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Wounds Act 2017, and the Patients’ Bill of Rights 2018, both of which mandate all hospitals, public or private, to accept and treat patients needing emergency care, including those with gunshot wounds or accident victims, without waiting for police clearance or upfront payment, means there is a deeply entrenched culture that needs to be uprooted.
However, the laws notwithstanding, hospitals have continued to refuse patients urgent care over police clearance or upfront payment. For decades, law enforcement has harassed hospitals and law-abiding citizens who have offered emergency assistance or reported crimes or made distress calls on behalf of accident or crime victims. Rushing an injured person to a hospital may as well see you being harassed by law enforcement as a possible perpetrator of a crime. This doesn’t only disincentivise rendering urgent assistance but imposes a habit of wanting to avoid police drama by walking away or hesitating when urgent intervention is required.
With hospitals, the privileging of profit over saving lives, and the fear of police harassment is a violation of the Hippocratic Oath that guides medical conduct. And as we have seen with Somtochukwu’s death, the law notwithstanding, this deeply entrenched culture still persists.
It is this culture that is referred to when Nigerians talk about Nigeria not happening to you. The normalisation of this culture of unjustifiable neglect and lack of empathy or the prioritisation of profit over the sanctity of human life is the bane of our country. And it is not only the hospitals that favour payment over saving lives. Even the police have done this far too often. I have reported before how an accident victim on the Abuja-Keffi express road was allowed to bleed out by the police, who instead of getting him immediately to a hospital, preferred to wait over the offending car that amputated the young boy, to make some quick bucks off the driver.
Or how often have we witnessed or heard tales of police officers refusing to convey victims to emergency medical care because the police vehicles ‘no get fuel,’ and how the car miraculously starts moving once bribes are offered.
So, while people in countries like the US or even the relatively low-crime countries of Scandinavia may be shot in their homes, because people will always have reasons to unleash violence on each other, or suffer accidents, they are almost always assured of emergency help and care. The fact that we cannot say the same about Nigeria is the biggest tragedy of our 65 years of independence, as epitomised today by Somtochukwu’s death.
While there is nothing that can be done to bring her back, to undo the damage that this culture has done to her and her family, and thousands of Nigerian families, there is something that could be done for millions of others, who inevitably will be needing urgent interventions to save their lives. Her death could be a turning point, from which the negligence of both law enforcement and the hospital, if any is detected by the investigation, is properly sanctioned as an example for others. If any parties are found culpable, through negligent conduct or clear violations of the law and the demands of their sworn duties, they should be indicted and penalised as stipulated by the law.
At the same time, we must retrain both security and medical personnel on prioritising human lives ahead of payment or the myth of some police procedural, and commend private citizens who offer emergency assistance instead of harassing them. We must be deliberate about eliminating this detrimental culture that we have imbibed. Until we do, may Nigeria never happen to us.