The management of Nigeria’s State Specialist Hospital, Gombe, has strongly denied allegations circulating on social media that its doctors unlawfully removed the kidney of a patient, Barira Alhassan, during a Caesarean section performed in May 2026, reports Punch.
It has since paid for a CT urogram at an outside hospital in efforts to confirm that the missing kidney issue was linked to a congenital condition rather than any surgical removal, it said.
In a statement, the hospital described the allegation by the patient’s brother as “false, malicious, reckless and unsupported by medical evidence or records”.
Theatre records show that the woman only underwent an emergency C-section, and the facility added that “at no point was any procedure involving the kidneys undertaken by the surgical team”.
The hospital further disclosed that, after concerns raised by the family, it sponsored a CT intravenous urogram (CT-IVU) at a Federal Teaching Hospital to determine the patient’s condition.
“The CT-IVU findings were consistent with a likely congenital absence of one kidney, with associated abnormalities involving the ureter on the other side. These findings strongly support a developmental condition rather than any surgical removal of a kidney,” the statement said.
The management noted that it paid for the investigation “in the spirit of helping to reveal the truth”, and that it had twice held meetings with the patient’s family to explain the findings and review the clinical records and investigation results.
It said that, at the family’s request, arrangements were made for a repeat investigation at another independent medical facility.
“All parties agreed to this request, and the management is still waiting for the family to present the new investigation results as agreed during our last meeting,” the statement added.
The hospital condemned what it described as a social media campaign aimed at tarnishing its reputation and undermining public confidence in healthcare professionals.
“The allegations are false, reckless, defamatory and intended to mislead the public, damage the reputation of the hospital and undermine public confidence in healthcare professionals who work tirelessly to save lives,” it said.
It warned that while it remained open to lawful investigations by relevant authorities, it would pursue legal and administrative action against individuals or groups found to be deliberately spreading defamatory information.
Punch article – Gombe hospital denies removing patient’s kidney during C-section (Open access)
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