Inspector of Police, Mr Ugochukwu Emeharam, has appealed to well-meaning Nigerians and lovers of humanity to assist in offsetting hospital bills to enable him access the corpse of his daughter, who died of breast cancer in March 2025.
Emeharam, who is attached to the Works Department of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Imo Police Command, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Owerri.
The officer, while narrating his ordeal, said his daughter, Chisom, was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer at the age of 24, shortly after returning from Lagos in late 2024.
He explained that Chisom was taken to several places for treatment, including native and herbal centres, based on recommendations, from November 2024, before she was eventually admitted to the Federal Teaching Hospital, Owerri, on Jan. 27, 2025.
According to him, he spent over N3.5 million in an effort to save his daughter’s life, funds which were sourced from loans obtained from a commercial bank and two fintech institutions, as well as from the sale of his personal property.
Emeharam said that in spite of all efforts, Chisom succumbed to the illness in March 2025, adding that his current financial condition had made it impossible for him to give her a proper burial without assistance.
“I had to secure the loans because I needed money to foot bills accruing from the oxygen and chemotherapy treatment given to her daily.
“The money for oxygen, the chemotherapy treatment and some drugs proscribed for her became so much for me to bear,” he explained.
The police officer said the loans were currently being deducted from his salary monthly, rendering him with nothing left to feed his family and aged parents.
“In spite of my sacrifices, Chisom died in March 2025, but the hospital had since then refused to release her remains because of the N593,640 debt,” he lamented.
The bereaved father further disclosed that the hospital mortuary bill debt had amounted to N349,500 from March 2025 to Jan. 29.
“How can a father find peace when his child’s corpse is trapped in a mortuary for nearly 11 months by mounting bills.
“Her spirit appears to me telling me she’s tired and wants to rest.
“Can you imagine the pain of a father talking to the corpse of his daughter.
“Each time I speak to her remains, I return home feeling utterly broken and defeated,” he said.
The officer said he had looked around and realised that he needed help, noting that efforts to get help from the police command and the state government yielded no positive financial relief.
He said members of his community once supported him during the treatment of his late daughter “but now they await for a burial date I cannot provide because of a mounting debt and my grieving heart.
“If I have offended anyone, they should please forgive me,” he begged, saying “I just want to give my daughter a final, dignified resting place.
“It is a simple wish for a father who has already lost his property, his livelihood, and his child,” he grieved.
Meanwhile, a NAN Correspondent later obtained medical reports from the Federal Teaching Hospital Owerri.
The documents corroborated Emeharam’s claims, detailing the breast cancer management and the debt incurred.(NAN)
