By Kabiru Abdulrauf
The death of Somtochukwu Maduagwu, a 29-year-old ARISE News correspondent who died after being denied urgent medical treatment following a robbery escape in Abuja, has sparked outrage. But as grief ripples across the nation, politicians are doing what they often do best: turning tragedy into political capital.
Maduagwu’s story is already powerful and painful. She survived a 14-man armed robbery attack, jumped from her apartment to save her life, and was taken alive to Maitama District General Hospital — only to be rejected for lack of identification. Hours later, she was gone. Her colleagues Ojy Okpe and Dr. Reuben Abati say her life could have been saved, calling the hospital’s actions “callous and unethical.” That alone should have been enough to unite Nigerians in grief and push for urgent reforms. Instead, the tragedy has entered the dangerous arena of partisan politics.
Within hours, politicians across party lines seized on the incident. Opposition figures slammed the federal government, framing Maduagwu’s death as proof of Nigeria’s collapsing health system and worsening insecurity. Hashtags like #NigeriaHappenedToSomto began trending, with some politicians amplifying them to score political points. On the other side, government allies deflected blame, pointing fingers at state authorities and even suggesting ARISE News itself was exaggerating the story for “anti-government propaganda.” What should have been a moment of sober national reflection has been reduced to a political football.
The politicization reveals a pattern familiar to Nigerians: every tragedy, from train bombings to flood disasters, becomes another opportunity for politicians to weaponize pain without fixing the underlying problems. Maduagwu’s death highlights two of Nigeria’s deepest wounds — insecurity and healthcare failure. Yet, instead of offering credible solutions, political actors are locked in a blame game, leaving families and colleagues of the deceased to grieve in the shadows of propaganda.
As her final post on X — “I pray from the depth of my heart that Nigeria never happens to me or anyone I care about” — continues to trend, the question remains: will this tragedy finally force Nigeria’s leaders to prioritize reforms, or will it fade into memory as just another casualty of politicized grief? For now, it appears Maduagwu’s death has become less about justice and more about politics — the very system she spent her young career holding accountable.
