Controversy trails death of Ngige's aide

By Tony Edike

Monday, November 29, 2004

ENUGU — THE mysterious death in an American hospital of a female Special Assistant to Anambra State Governor, Miss Ego Theresa Nkwoka is now the source of a brewing rift between the state government and her family. The deceased Special Assistant attached to the Abuja Liaison Office of the Anambra State Government, who hailed from Abatete in Idemili North Local Government Area reportedly died of a complications arising from a six-month old pregnancy at the University of Brooklyn Hospital, New York.

The lady, according to sources at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Enugu, where she was first admitted, was treated for Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) characterized by severe abdominal pain. The cause of the disease, as learnt, was traced to a failed attempt at aborting the pregnancy.

Her condition, however, continued to deteriorate prompting the doctors at the Teaching Hospital to recommend further treatment abroad. She was therefore flown to New York under the sponsorship of the state government and accompanied by a government official. She reportedly died less than a week after arriving the American hospital. Ego’s remains were flown back to the country on November 8 and were subsequently brought down to Enugu via a Sosoliso Airline Flight and deposited at the Eastern Nigeria Medical Centre, Enugu by Aroh.

Sources close to the Nkwoka family of Abatete told reporters in Enugu at the weekend that a section of the family was unhappy with the "mystery" surrounding the death of the lady, stressing that the family was kept in the dark about the real cause of her death and details of her treatment in various hospitals.

The family, sources further said, was particularly irked by reports that a top government official was responsible for the pregnancy that allegedly led to her death, and demanded that a thorough investigation be carried out into the entire affair with a view to unearthing the truth about her demise.

"We didn’t even know when she was flown abroad. We only received the news that she was dead and that her corpse had been brought back and kept at Enugu. We were later told that her remains would be brought home for burial. We are not happy with this mystery and we want the government to tell us the truth about her death," a member of the family said.

When contacted, however, the governor’s Special Assistant on Legislative Matters, Chief Okey Aroh, confirmed that Ego died at the Brooklyn Hospital but strongly denied that her death was traceable to any pregnancy. He claimed that she had been treated for meningitis back home in Nigeria but had to travel to America for "a rest".

According to him, Ego on arrival started complaining of headache and went to the hospital where her condition rapidly deteriorated and she died. "There is nothing mysterious about Ego’s death. She was not pregnant at all. She had meningitis and was treated here but apparently the treatment was not the best. She traveled to America to rest but a week after her arrival, she started complaining of headache and went to the hospital. The rest is history."

He described the alleged controversy surrounding the lady’s death as "a political fairytale" being spread by opponents of the state government, adding that the family was fully aware of the lady’s condition and subsequent death.

Aroh, also a native of Abatete, said the lady was buried last weekend without any trouble as her father could attest.