Death in shadows of a canal: How 26-yr-old choir star, Ifunaya Nwagene, met tragic end

•Saturday Vanguard visits her compound, traces snake routes to her house

By Folarin Kehinde, Abuja

A silent canal running behind a residential estate in Abuja has become the focus of grief, fear and unanswered questions following the death of Ifunaya Lucy Nwagene, a 26-year-old soprano singer and member of the Amemuso Choir, whose promising life was cut short under tragic circumstances.

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Ifunaya, an indigene of Enugu State, was widely admired for her calm nature and extraordinary voice. But when Vanguard visited her residence, it was not music that filled the air, stillness did.

Her apartment was under lock and key. No movement. No voices. Only a security guard standing watch in an estate now gripped by unease.

Behind her house, Vanguard discovered a large open canal, running close to the estate’s perimeter fence — a site residents now believe may have played a deadly role.

A neighbour, who spoke to Vanguard in Yoruba and preferred anonymity, said reptiles were not uncommon in the area, tracing the danger directly to the canal.

“How many snakes bite people in the villages? This place is even more like Europe. But we are a tropical country. Our leaders don’t allow things to work the way they should, so we don’t even have the right medications,” she said.

“Whatever is coming out, it is from the canal. That is where reptiles come from. People are suspecting that a cobra entered through the  door or any opening and crept onto her bed.”

According to the neighbour, the late singer was known for her gentle and quiet lifestyle.

“She is a nice person, very calm. If she was a troublemaker, everyone would know. The time frame of the impact of the bite was long. Snake venom is very dangerous,  once it enters the body, it travels fast,” she added.

Adams, the gateman attached to the estate, also confirmed the vulnerability of the environment.

“Fumigation here is mostly done by individual house owners, Sometimes she gives us money at the gate. She is a nice person and she stays alone.” he explained.

He pointed to cracks in the estate fence, pole holes, open water pipes and spaces under gates as possible entry routes for reptiles searching for food.

“I don’t know if any government officials have visited when I was off duty, but in my presence this week, no government official has come. Her belongings are still intact in her room,” Adams said.

A walk around the estate revealed visible cracks and holes in the perimeter fence, offering little resistance to reptiles migrating from the canal behind the houses.

In a telephone interview with Vanguard, Sam C. Ezugwu, Director of the Amemuso Choir, described Ifunaya’s death as devastating.

“She’s one of our best , arguably the best. We miss her greatly. We are grieving seriously. It’s hard to come to terms with the fact that Nanyah is gone,” he said.

Ezugwu disclosed that she joined the choir in November 2020 and steadily grew into one of its brightest stars.

“Since then, she became our pride. Her voice kept improving. She kept getting bigger and bigger. She announced herself majorly last year to the world. This year, there were many projects lined up for her. It’s quite unfortunate,” he added.

As friends, neighbours and colleagues struggle to accept her loss, questions continue to trail estate safety, canal management, fumigation practices and emergency response.

Vanguard News

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