The legal battle over the shocking death of Aisha Umar, the woman who died after doctors allegedly forgot a pair of scissors inside her body during surgery, suffered another setback on Tuesday after government lawyers failed to appear in court.
The case, before a Kano State High Court on Miller Road, was adjourned until November 13, 2026, following the absence of legal representatives for the government and the defendants’ failure to file their defence within the deadline set by the court.
Aisha died in September 2025 while undergoing corrective surgery to remove the scissors allegedly left inside her abdomen during an earlier operation at the Abubakar Imam Urology Centre.
At the hearing, the family’s lawyer, Barrister Faiza Yunusa Yusuf, lamented the delay, revealing that the defendants neither filed their defence nor showed up in court.
“We are waiting for the defendants to file all their processes and appear in court to defend the case. Unfortunately, there was no legal representation for the defendants, and they have not filed their processes. Their time for doing so has elapsed,” she told the court.
She explained that the deadline for the defendants to file their response had expired under the Kano State High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, forcing the court to adjourn the matter until November for the plaintiff to prove the case.
The deceased’s husband, Abubakar Muhammad, also vented his anger, accusing the Kano State Government of dragging its feet over the tragedy.
“I feel dissatisfied and unhappy with the position the state government has taken. They set up an investigative committee in January, and up till now, the committee has not released its report. I don’t know why the state government is dragging its feet on the matter,” he said.
The fresh adjournment means Aisha Umar’s family will have to wait even longer in their quest for justice in a case that has sparked outrage over alleged medical negligence.
