Family of COVID-19 first Nigerian victim, Suleiman Achimugu speaks

The family of the first Nigerian to die of the dreaded COVID-19 disease otherwise known as Coronavirus, Suleiman Achimugu, has spoken officially about his death.

Achimugu, a former Managing Director of the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was said to have died on Sunday night, two weeks after he returned from the United Kingdom.

He was said to have shown ssymptoms of the deadly disease and had to self quarantine before his test result returned positive and was evaluated by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC.

The family said in a statement signed by Abubakar Achimugu on Monday: “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 recieving 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.Ameen”.