A senior nurse at the Gambo Sawaba General Hospital in Zaria, Kaduna State, has been gruesomely murdered by suspected phone snatchers while returning home from an evening outing.
The deceased, identified as Hadiza Musa, served as the Deputy Head of the Maternity Unit at the hospital.
She was reportedly attacked around Filin Mallawa in Tudun Wada, Zaria, on Saturday evening after visiting a salon and an Islamic chemist.
Her husband, Hamza Ibrahim Idris, who works in Abuja, told reporters that he last spoke with her around 6 p.m. after sending her some money.
“That was the last time I heard her voice,” he said. “When I couldn’t reach her again that night, I thought her battery had gone flat. But by morning, I became worried.”
Idris said his wife boarded a commercial motorcycle around 6:30 p.m., but never made it home.
According to him, signs of struggle indicated she resisted an attempt to snatch her phone.
“Her hands were clenched tightly, suggesting someone forced them open.
“She was also hit on the head and bled severely. From all indications, that’s what killed her,” he said.
He added that after the attack, the assailants abandoned her by the roadside near the Mallawa Eid Ground in Tudun Wada and fled with her phone.
A passerby later discovered her unconscious and rushed her to a nearby clinic. From there, she was transferred to the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika, where doctors confirmed her death.
The tragedy came only three months after Hadiza lost her sister, whose three children she had adopted.
“Now, she has left behind six children, three of her own and the three she took in after her sister’s death,” Idris said tearfully.
Reacting to the incident, the Hospital Secretary, Abdulkadir Balele Wali, described the late nurse as a pillar of dedication and compassion.
“She was one of our most hardworking staff members.
“Hadiza worked late into Friday night before her death. Her professionalism and devotion to saving lives will never be forgotten,” Wali stated.
Meanwhile, residents of Zaria have called on security agencies to step up patrols in the area, lamenting the increasing rate of phone snatching and violent robberies at night.
“This is not the first time something like this has happened here,” a local resident said. “People can’t even move freely anymore. We need better security before more lives are lost.”
The Kaduna State Police Command is yet to issue an official statement on the killing as investigations continue.