The Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) has confirmed the deaths of three patients in its Intensive Care Unit (ICU) following the disconnection of electricity supply to the facility by the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) over a massive unpaid debt.

AKTH’s Chief Information Officer, Hauwa Inuwa Dutse, told Daily Trust on Monday that the hospital lost three of four patients who were on life-support when the power outage hit on Friday. The disconnection, she said, had a direct and devastating impact on critically ill patients dependent on machines to survive.

KEDCO had cut off power to the hospital citing an outstanding debt of ₦949.88 million as of August, along with an additional August bill of ₦108.95 million which the company said must be paid in full within 10 working days to avoid further sanctions.

“On that very day, Friday, there were four patients on admission, and due to the power outage, three of them died,” Dutse said.

The incident has sparked public outrage, with many Nigerians describing the tragedy as an avoidable consequence of bureaucratic impasse and alleged mismanagement. Several staff members told Daily Trust the blackout crippled hospital operations, forcing reliance on solar power that could not support life-saving equipment, while generators could not run non-stop without breaks.

“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,” said a source in the pediatric unit, who appealed to both AKTH and KEDCO to urgently resolve their dispute “to prevent more loss of lives.”

By late Monday afternoon, Daily Trust observed solar batteries in the administrative block flashing low-battery warnings, while staff described the weekend blackout as “crippling.” One emergency ward worker said: “The hospital cannot run on generators alone. Some units don’t even have solar backup. What we went through was very bad.”

KEDCO, however, denied responsibility for the reported deaths, accusing AKTH of “blackmail.” Sani Bala Sani, the company’s Head of Corporate Communications, said, “The hospital is just trying to blackmail us as light had already been restored even before their outburst.” He said the dispute arose from efforts to separate AKTH’s main hospital from its staff residential quarters, alleging the staff residences had not been paying electricity bills and were contributing heavily to the mounting liabilities.

According to KEDCO, the hospital’s main facilities are connected to a 33kV Zaria Road feeder, classified as Band A, which supplies an average of 22 hours of electricity daily. Bala claimed AKTH’s insistence on keeping staff residences on the same line created faults and instability. In a letter dated August 12, 2025, KEDCO’s Chief Commercial Officer, Muhammad Aminu Dantata, informed AKTH of the ₦949.88 million outstanding debt and warned that failure to settle the August bill of ₦108.95 million would result in disconnection of “non-essential” areas.

As public outrage mounted, the Kano State Police Command stepped in to mediate. In a statement signed by its spokesperson, SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, the Command said the intervention was necessary due to the security and humanitarian implications of the blackout. A meeting chaired by Commissioner of Police Ibrahim Adamu Bakori at Bompai Police Headquarters brought together AKTH’s Chief Medical Director, Prof. A. Abba Sheshe, and KEDCO’s Managing Director, Dr. Abubakar Shuaibu Jimeta. Following deliberations, Dr. Jimeta ordered the immediate restoration of power to the hospital.

By Monday evening, AKTH confirmed that electricity had been restored and thanked the police and KEDCO for their swift intervention. In a statement signed by Hauwa Inuwa Dutse, the hospital expressed appreciation to the Commissioner of Police and KEDCO’s leadership, reaffirming its commitment to settling all outstanding bills in due course.

The tragedy has reignited debate about Nigeria’s fragile healthcare infrastructure and the recurring power crises that continue to endanger lives in public hospitals.