A Nigerian servicewoman has died after being bitten by a venomous snake hiding in her toilet at the air base where she lived.
Lance Corporal Bercy Ogah of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) died after suffering a snake bite on the toilet at her home on the NAF base on Bill Clinton Drive in the Nigerian capital Abuja.
Ogah, who was a member of the Defence Intelligence Agency, died after being bitten in the early morning.
The woman reportedly drove her children and a relative to a neighbour’s home before going to the NAF hospital, where she later succumbed to the venomous snake bite.
An unnamed NAF source told local media: “You will find all kinds of wild animals in the base. People who stay there see snakes a lot.
“The houses in the base were fumigated recently, but hers was left behind because she was not around. The snake must have hidden in her toilet.
“After the snake bite, she took her child and a relative staying with her to her neighbour before she drove to the NAF hospital for treatment.
“When she got to the hospital, it took a little while before the anti-venom vaccine was administered to her. Apart from the vaccine not being readily available, I learnt that the person in charge of the drugs was not on duty.
“I don’t know the name of the snake, but they said it was very poisonous.”
The source added that the problem was made worse because the part of her body that the snake bit was particularly sensitive, and this was a contributing factor in the fact that she did not survive. They did not, however, specify what part that was.
In the video, a snake catcher is seen removing the huge reptile from the victim’s toilet.
NAF official spokesperson Edward Gabkwet has yet to confirm the incident and suggestions that her treatment was not properly handled.
The victim’s sister claimed that the drugs given to Ogah were out of date and that they refused to release her when her husband barged into the NAF hospital to demand that she be taken to another health centre.
It is unclear if the NAF authorities are investigating the woman’s death and the allegations made by her family.
