With over 1 million people globally infected, the world has begun facing the reality of the novel coronavirus which causes the disease, COVID-19.
No less than 50,000 people have died around the world of the virus which first broke out in the Wuhan city of China last December.
Below are known four Nigerians who have died of the disease at home and abroad.
1. Suleiman Achimugu
A former managing director of the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Suleiman Achimugu, on March 23 became the first person to die of COVID-19 in Nigeria.
The 67-year-old UK returnee, who is a native of Kogi State, died at the Specialist Hospital, Gwagwalada, FCT.
2. Bassey Offiong
Bassey Offiong died of the coronavirus in the United States on March 28.
The 25-year-old was to graduate with a chemical engineering degree from Western Michigan University before his demise.
3. Alfa Sa’adu
A doctor of Nigerian origin resident in the United Kingdom, Alfa Sa’adu, died of the coronavirus on March 31.
Sa’adu, 68, who held the traditional title of the Galadima of Patigi in Kwara State, died of complications from the disease.
He was one of the most respected Nigerians in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
4. Kole Abayomi
Former Director-General of the Nigeria Law School, Dr Kole Abayomi, died in the United Kingdom (UK) on April 2 after contracting the virus.
Abayomi was called to bar in 1966 and admitted to the Inner Bar in 2005. He taught at the Nigerian Law School and rose to the position of Director-General in November 2004.
There are others who have died of the coronavirus in Nigeria although their names are not known. One of them is the case of the first person to die of the virus in Lagos State on April 3 – a 55-year-old man who recently returned from The Netherlands.
