A grieving family has accused a Lagos-based ambulance service of gross negligence after their critically ill daughter, who was successfully transported across three continents on life support, allegedly died during a routine hospital transfer in Lagos.
The family of 42-year-old Adunola Abiola says she remained clinically stable through multiple international medical evacuations — only for her condition to rapidly deteriorate after an ambulance conveying her between two Lagos hospitals reportedly lost power mid-journey.
In a legal letter written by human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), the family described Abiola as a ventilator-dependent ICU patient who had been carefully transported under strict medical supervision across continents without incident.
The famous lawyer alleged that the deceased survived complex intercontinental medical transfers, but tragically lost her life during a short hospital transfer within Lagos.
According to the family, Abiola arrived in Nigeria from London in stable condition in November 2025 and was first admitted at Genesis Hospital in Ikeja before doctors recommended a transfer to Emazur Multispecialist Hospital in Ojuelegba.
The Medical Ambulance Service was hired to handle the critical move.
But during the journey, the ambulance allegedly suffered a power failure, shutting down the ventilator keeping Abiola alive.
With no functioning backup system, personnel reportedly resorted to manual breathing support as the vehicle stalled in traffic around Maryland.
Moments later, her condition worsened.
Falana said the interruption of life support led to multiple cardiac arrests, after which Abiola was pronounced dead.
“This was not an unavoidable tragedy,” he wrote. “It was the result of shocking unpreparedness and operational failure.”
Her mother, Mrs Folashade Abiola, who was in the front seat of the ambulance, recalled the terrifying moment the siren and electricity suddenly went off.
“My daughter was on a ventilator, and everything stopped,” she said tearfully. “They started pumping her manually. That was when I knew something was terribly wrong.”
Her younger sister, Titilayo, described the incident as “gross incompetence,” insisting the breakdown directly caused her sister’s death.
“How does someone survive hospital transfers across continents and die on a short Lagos journey?” she asked.
However, the ambulance company has strongly denied all allegations.
Its Managing Director, Dara Mould, insisted the ambulance never stopped and that CCTV footage and GPS tracking prove the patient was continuously ventilated throughout the journey.
She said the company followed proper ICU transport procedures and requested hospital medical records to allow for an independent medical review of the death.
The family, unconvinced, is now preparing legal action.
As the battle intensifies, the case has sparked public outrage — with many Nigerians questioning how a patient could survive international medical transport only to die during a local hospital transfer meant to save her life.
