Former managing director of the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Suleiman Achimugu has confirmed to be the first patient who died of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Nigeria.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had announced that the 67-year-old man passed away at 2am on Monday.
According to NCDC, he returned from the United Kingdom two weeks ago.
The NCDC disclosed that Achimugu had underlying medical conditions- multiple myeloma & diabetes & was undergoing chemotherapy
The family of the deceased confirmed this in a statement on Monday.
The statement read: “Our family is deeply saddened to inform you of the sudden death of our beloved Father, Uncle, Brother and friend. Engr. Suleiman Achimugu (former Md of PPMC).
“He died of COVID 19 on 22/03/2020 some days after he arrived Nigeria from the UK. He was in self-isolation upon his return from the UK and personally called NCDC after experiencing some discomfort that are related to COVID 19 symptoms.
“He tested positive and was promptly evacuated to the specialist hospital. He died while receiving treatment.
“We implore the general public to pray upon his soul and the recovery of infected persons .Your thoughts and prayers would be appreciated.
“Please maintain the public social distancing and restriction advice as we all walk through this very difficult time. He has since been buried according to Islamic rites. May Allah SWA have mercy on him.”
