The Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) has confirmed the death of three patients in its Intensive Care Unit (ICU) following the disconnection of electricity supply to the hospital by the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO).
The hospital’s Chief Information Officer, Hauwa Inuwa Dutse, confirmed the deaths to Daily Trust on Monday.
KEDCO disconnected the facility over an outstanding debt of N949.88 million as of the end of August.
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In a statement, the company’s Head of Corporate Communications, Mr. Sani Bala, said the hospital is also expected to settle its August bill of N108.95 million in full within 10 working days or risk further sanctions.
Hauwa explained that the blackout had a direct impact on patients on life-support machines.
“On that very day, Friday, there were four patients on admission, and due to the power outage, three of them died,” she said.
The development has triggered public outrage, with many Nigerians blaming the tragedy on what they described as an avoidable disconnection.
Hospital staff speak out
A source in the hospital’s pediatric unit told Daily Trust that newborns on admission were also struggling as the wards rely solely on power from generators.
“The generators cannot run non-stop; they have to be turned off for some hours before being restarted. This situation is endangering the lives of babies and other patients,” the source said.
The source further appealed to both AKTH and KEDCO to urgently resolve their disputes to prevent more loss of lives.
“The hospital has already begun to record deaths. If this continues, the catastrophe in healthcare delivery will only worsen,” he said.
When Daily Trust visited the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) on Monday, staff members described the weekend blackout as “crippling.”
“It affected everything. We couldn’t work effectively. The little power you see now is from solar, which doesn’t support sockets. We couldn’t use computers or run machines,” one staff member said.
Another worker in the emergency ward said: “The hospital cannot run on generators alone. Some units don’t even have solar backup. What we went through was very bad.”
Our correspondent also observed that by late afternoon on Monday, the solar batteries powering parts of the administrative block had already begun flashing low-battery warnings.
Hospital blackmailing us – KEDCO
Meanwhile, KEDCO has dismissed claims by the hospital that three patients died following a power outage, accusing the hospital of blackmail.
“The hospital is just trying to blackmail us as light had already been restored even before their outburst,” said Sani Bala Sani, KEDCO’s Head of Corporate Communications.
He explained that the crisis stemmed from an ongoing effort to separate AKTH’s main hospital facilities from its staff residential quarters to guarantee uninterrupted power to critical medical services.
According to him, the hospital’s main campus is connected to the 33kV Zaria Road feeder, classified as Band A, which delivers an average of 22 hours of electricity daily.
However, he alleged that AKTH management had insisted that staff residences remain on the same feeder as the hospital, a situation that he said undermined supply stability.
“This led to a severe fault which caused the recent outage we had consistently sought to prevent,” he said.
KEDCO further alleged that the staff residential quarters had not been paying electricity bills, contributing significantly to the hospital’s growing liabilities.
In a letter dated August 12, 2025, the company’s Chief Commercial Officer, Muhammad Aminu Dantata, notified AKTH of an outstanding debt of N949.88 million as of August.
The letter also directed the hospital to fully settle its August bill of N108.95 million within 10 working days or face withdrawal of service from “non-essential” areas.
While insisting that it remains committed to uninterrupted power supply for the hospital’s critical facilities, KEDCO urged AKTH to cooperate in the separation of supply lines and settle its debts in good faith.
Police broker peace
Meanwhile, the Kano State Police Command has intervened in the dispute between the hospital and KEDCO over power disconnection, paving the way for the restoration of electricity supply to the hospital.
In a statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, the Command said the intervention was necessary because of the security and humanitarian implications of the blackout, which reportedly disrupted critical medical services at the hospital.
The meeting, held at the Bompai Police Headquarters, was chaired by the Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Adamu Bakori.
It brought together the Chief Medical Director of AKTH, Prof. A. Abba Sheshe, and the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of KEDCO, Dr. Abubakar Shuaibu Jimeta.
After deliberations, Dr. Jimeta directed immediate arrangements for the restoration of power to the hospital.
Police said the successful resolution demonstrated its commitment to safeguarding lives and property and ensuring that vital institutions such as hospitals operate without disruption.
By late Monday evening, the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) confirmed that its dispute with the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) had been resolved.
In a statement signed by Hauwa Inuwa Dutse, the hospital’s spokesperson, AKTH said: “The management of AKTH expresses its sincere appreciation to the Commissioner of Police and the Managing Director of KEDCO for their timely intervention.”
The hospital also reaffirmed its commitment to settling all outstanding electricity bills in due course and thanked the public for their patience during the crisis.