Singer Ifunanya Nwangene, better known by her stage name Nanyah, of Abuja, died on Saturday after being bitten by 2 snakes at home.
Due to the lack of anti-venom at both institutions, Nwangene was allegedly left untreated despite having hurried herself to two different hospitals for immediate medical assistance.
The Amemuso Choir, of which Nwangene was a member, confirmed her passing in a social media post, stating that she would be “deeply missed.”
“Amemuso Choir regrets to announce the sudden demise of our beloved soprano Ifunanya Nwangene who passed away yesterday, 31st January 2026 at Federal Medical Centre due to a snake bite,” the statement reads.
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“A rising star, Ifunanya was at the cusp of sharing her incredible talent with the world. Her voice and spirit will be deeply missed.”
Amemuso’s music director, Sam Ezugwu, talked about the last hours of Nwangene and the futile fight against time in an interview with TheCable.
Ezugwu claimed that a message on Ifunanya’s social media page stating that she required assistance at the FMC was what initially alerted him to the situation.
“It was yesterday when I saw a post on her page asking if anyone is near FMC. So I called the person with her to ask what happened and they told me Ifunanya was bitten by a snake,” he said.
He continued by saying that although medical staff told him that two anti-venoms were needed, only one was on hand at the hospital and had previously been given to her.
“So I had to go 10 minutes away to Skylark Pharmacy near National Hospital to get the second one,” he said.
“As I was driving back to the hospital with the anti-venom, her friend who was with her called me and said Ifunanya had died. She died at 12:20 pm.”
Ezugwu claimed that hospital staff informed him that Ifunanya received medical care as soon as she got to FMC.
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But he clarified that her search for treatment had been delayed earlier.
“From what I know, after she was bitten by the snake, Ifunanya went to a hospital in Lugbe and they said they don’t have anti-venom. So she took a Bolt to FMC,” he said.
”The distance is about 30 minutes. She was still active when she got to FMC and narrated what happened to them. She even described the type of snake to them.”
Ezugwu claims that a doctor later informed him that the venom had spread by the time Ifunanya reached FMC.
Ezugwu also revealed that Ifunanya’s family had asked for her body to be sent to the state of Enugu.
Videos of a man clutching a long black snake started to go viral online as word of her passing spread.
The snake was said to have been captured from the late singer’s apartment after the incident.
Her death has elicited reactions from Nigerians with many decrying Nigeria’s poor emergency response system and the lack of life-saving drugs such as anti-venom in hospitals.
