The Nigerian Senate has issued a definitive call to action for Federal and State governments to ensure the immediate availability of safe, effective, and affordable anti-venom drugs across all healthcare facilities.
This resolution follows a national outcry over the tragic and avoidable death of Ifunanya Nwangene, a rising 26-year-old singer and former contestant on The Voice Nigeria, who died on Saturday, January 31, 2026, after suffering a cobra bite in her Abuja residence.
The motion, brought forward under matters of national importance by Senator Idiat Adebule (Lagos West), describes the current state of emergency preparedness as an embarrassment to the nation.
Lawmakers noted that while Nigeria faces a high burden of snakebite incidents, systemic gaps specifically the lack of life-saving antidotes in hospital pharmacies continue to claim the lives of citizens in their prime.
Ifunanya Nwangene, a trained architect and gifted soprano known to her fans as Nanyah, was reportedly bitten by a cobra while asleep in her apartment in the Lugbe area of Abuja. Her final hours were marked by a desperate, failed race against time. After the bite, Nwangene managed to book a ride-hailing service to a private clinic in Lugbe, only to be informed that the facility lacked anti-venom.
She was eventually transferred to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Jabi. Despite her active state upon arrival during which she narrated the incident to medical personnel her condition rapidly deteriorated. Friends and choir members who rushed to her side alleged that the hospital only had one of the two required doses of polyvalent anti-venom. While they frantically searched for a second dose in pharmacies across the city, Ifunanya succumbed to severe neurotoxic complications.
While the management of FMC Jabi has since disputed these claims, the incident has highlighted a critical failure in the national medical supply chain.
In response to the tragedy, the Senate, led by President Godswill Akpabio, has directed the Federal Ministry of Health and NAFDAC to enforce strict new guidelines.
Regulatory authorities are now mandated to make the stocking of essential antidotes a prerequisite for the licensing and accreditation of both public and private hospitals.
NAFDAC has also been tasked with ensuring the nationwide procurement and proper storage of quality-assured anti-venoms, with priority given to high-risk zones.
The Senate also urged the FCT Administration and State Governments to establish a coordinated emergency referral network to ensure victims are immediately directed to facilities with verified stocks of life-saving medicine.
By treating snakebite envenomation as a public health emergency, the Senate aims to prevent a repeat of the systemic failure that ended the promising career of a young Nigerian artist.
