A NIGERIAN TV star has tragically died after being bitten by a snake in her sleep.
Ifunanya Nwangene, 26, suffered the fatal bite at her apartment in the country’s capital Abuja on Saturday.
The aspiring singer rose to stardom after her appearance on the Nigerian edition of the world-renowned singing talent show The Voice in 2021.
Ifunanya had been recognised for her ability to seamlessly blend jazz, opera, classical music and soul.
Horrifying footage from the night of the incident shows a snake handler removing the deadly beast from her apartment as onlookers scream om terror: “It’s a cobra!”
Hillary Obinna, a friend and fellow singer, told the BBC she had been sleeping when “the snake bite woke her up”.
Two snakes were subsequently discovered in the apartment.
Ifunanya rushed to a nearby clinic, but there was no life-saving antivenom to hand.
She then raced to the hospital, which lacked one of the two required antivenoms to treat the wound.
Sam Ezugwu, the co-founder and music director of Amemuso Choir where Ifunanya earned her stripes, said she had been planning her first solo concert this year.
Once he learned of the nighttime attack, Sam hurried to hospital to visit his stricken friend.
He said: “While they were trying to stabilise her, she could not speak but she could make hand gestures.
“She was struggling to breathe.”
Sam swiftly went out in search of the missing antivenom, but by the time he returned, Ifunanya had sadly succumbed to her injury.
The entire choir joined had by that point joined her at the hospital “hoping that a miracle would happen”.
The hospital has refuted claims that the required antivenom had been unavailable, calling them “unfounded” and that criticisms of its response “do not reflect the reality of the situation”.
The Federal Medical Centre, Jabi released a statement on Sunday saying: “Our medical staff provided immediate and appropriate treatment, including resuscitation efforts, intravenous fluids, intranasal oxygen, and the administration of polyvalent snake antivenom.”
They added that Ifunanya suffered severe complications from the fatal bite and her condition deteriorated suddenly, forcing a transfer to urgent care.
Medics were then “unable to revive her”.
“We stand by the quality of care and dedication our team demonstrates daily,” they said.
Ifunanya was a contestant on season three, where she dazzled viewers with a rendition of Rihanna’s “Take a Bow”.
She was ultimately eliminated in the knockout rounds.
Her tragic passing comes just three days after she teased a new song with musician Tbrass, who shared a clip of the recording as a tribute.
“An irreplaceable loss to the Abuja music society and Nigeria at large,” he wrote on Instagram.
“My hand and heart feels very heavy writing this, because it is unimaginable losing such a young promising great, talented music artist who touched so many lives, it is very heartbreaking – especially in Nigeria where music runs deep in our souls and connects us all.”
“The pain of saying goodbye to someone whose voice and energy brought joy, inspiration, and even healing to many is heavy,” he continued.
“From her unique voice, to the stories she told through songs, and the way she represented our culture and struggles, Nanya was a true artist who left an irreplaceable mark.”
