Sick Jehovah Witness member dies after refusing assistance from Catholic Church

By Izunna Okafor

A seriously sick member of Jehovah Witness church, Ogechukwu Ochiagha has died after allegedly refusing financial aid from a Catholic Church.

It would be recalled that the story of the deceased who had been sick for a while, had been shared on social media last year where people begged for donations to help sponsor her medical treatment.

On December 26, 2021, Bro. Can Mbanefo, a Facebook user who shared her story online, begged people to donate any amount they had to fund her treatment.

According to him, the young lady who was his friend, suffered from a disease known as neurofibromatosis with spinal tumor and needed to undergo a main surgery at one Memfys Hospital which cost N4 million, a huge amount which she could not afford.

He had further stated that she needed to also undergo a minor surgery first which would cost N200, 000 at 82 Division Military Hospital in Enugu.

While pleading for financial support, he had provided an account number where the donation was to be made and also the phone number of the deceased for whoever wanted to speak with her.

Unfortunately, he returned to Facebook on January 11, to share the sad news that she had died the previous day after refusing to accept financial assistance from a Catholic Church in Italy, who offered to pay for her surgery and sponsor all her treatments.

She was said to have refused to accept the money and the assistance from the Catholic Church on the ground that it was against the doctrine of her church, Jehovah Witness.

Ogechukwu, who was also a chef, was also quoted to have said that she “would only accept the money if it had come from a personal account.”

Announcing the sad news of her death, the Facebook user, Bro. Mbanefo called out Jehovah Witness and blamed their 'strict' doctrine and Ogechukwu's avoidable death.

He said that the Italian Church eventually donated the money to other sick people who needed it.