Nigeria records first coronavirus death

Nigeria has recorded the first coronavirus death, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control said on Monday.

“The 1st #COVID19 death in Nigeria has been recorded. The case was a 67 year old male who returned home following medical treatment in UK,” NCDC tweeted.

“He had underlying medical conditions- multiple myeloma & diabetes and was undergoing chemotherapy,” it added.

The deceased, Suleiman Achimugu, was a former managing director of Pipelines and Product Marketing Company.

The family in a press statement sent to The Guardian said “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,” the family spokesman Abubakar Achimugu said in the statement.

“He tested positive and was promptly evacuated to the specialist hospital. He died while receiving treatment,” the statement added.