THE Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) has restored electricity supply to the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) following an intense public outcry over a power blackout that reportedly caused the deaths of patients on life support in the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU).
In a statement made available to News Point Nigeria, KEDCO confirmed that power to AKTH’s main campus was reconnected and assured the public that the hospital remains on a top-priority 33kV Zaria Road feeder, which it said enjoys an average of 22 hours of electricity daily under Band A service.
However, the company also used the opportunity to raise the alarm over AKTH’s outstanding electricity bill, which it put at ₦949,880,922.45 as of August 2025, warning that continued partial payment could threaten the hospital’s power reliability.
KEDCO’s Head of Corporate Communications, Sani Bala Sani, explained that the outage that triggered the crisis was caused by a “severe fault” on the line supplying the hospital, a situation he blamed on AKTH’s management for allegedly refusing repeated attempts to separate the hospital’s power supply from that of its staff residential quarters.
“Several attempts by KEDCO to separate the residential homes from the health facilities were unsuccessful due to the management’s resistance. Unfortunately, this led to a severe fault, which caused the recent outage we have consistently sought to prevent,” Sani said.
He insisted that KEDCO restored power “even before the hospital’s public outcry” and accused the hospital of using the tragic loss of lives as an attempt to “blackmail” the company.
But AKTH, in a statement signed by its Head of Information Unit, Hauwa Inuwa Dutse, maintained that the blackout directly endangered patients and resulted in avoidable deaths.
“The management of AKTH is saddened by the death of some patients in critical care after KEDCO abruptly disconnected the entire hospital from electricity supply over pending bills, which the hospital is earnestly working to pay,” the statement read.
Families of patients have also joined the outcry, urging government intervention to prevent more deaths.
A distraught father, Garba Suleiman, whose son is on life support, told News Point Nigeria: “I am begging the government with every breath I have to step in without delay. These are precious human lives we are talking about.
“My son is on fragile life support, and every single minute without power pushes him closer to death. We have already buried two children in this ward because of this blackout. The government must act now to stop this from becoming a graveyard of helpless patients.”
Another patient, Sabiu Nuhu, called for leniency from KEDCO: “Please, they should have mercy on us. This is not just about bills; this is about saving lives.”
The company revealed that its Chief Commercial Officer, Muhammad Aminu Dantata, had written to AKTH’s management on August 12, 2025, warning of the possibility of withdrawing supply from staff quarters and other non-essential areas if the hospital fails to fully settle its ₦108.9m August bill within 10 working days.
“Despite repeated appeals, the hospital continues to make only partial monthly payments, which poses a huge economic burden on our operations,” KEDCO said.
It stressed that separating residential areas from the hospital’s power line is now non-negotiable to ensure reliability for critical medical services.
Chairman of Lafiya Ta Fi Kudi, a health NGO, Mahadi Kabir, said the crisis exposes the fragility of Nigeria’s health system, where power remains both a lifeline and a liability.
“We are urging federal and state governments to declare a health and power emergency to guarantee uninterrupted electricity for all critical health facilities nationwide,” Kabir stated.