By SN24.com 
By Peter Akpah.
The Plateau State High Court sitting in Jos has dismissed a N50,000,000 negligence suit filed against the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) and its Chief Medical Director over the death of Kator Daniel Manyam.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, 13th August 2026 in Suit No. PLD/752/2022 before Hon. Justice N.D. Shaseet of High Court 11, the court held that the claimant, *Stephanie N. Manyam Esq.*, failed to prove medical negligence against the defendants on the balance of probabilities.
The Claim
The claimant, a Chief State Counsel with the Benue State Ministry of Justice, instituted the suit following the death of her son, Kator Daniel Manyam, on *11th September 2022* while on admission at JUTH.
She alleged that staff of the Dialysis Unit of JUTH acted with gross incompetence and negligence by removing/failing to affix a workable oxygen ventilator to her son after dialysis on *7th September 2022*, and wheeling him on a stretcher for about 150 meters to the ICU over a period of about 10 minutes without oxygen.
According to the claimant, her son became unconscious on arrival at the ICU, was resuscitated and placed on life support for 5 days before he died. She sought:
1. An order compelling JUTH to publish an unreserved apology in 2 national newspapers; and
2. General damages of N50,000,000 for physical and psychological trauma.
Court’s Findings on NegligenceIn a detailed judgment, Justice Shaseet defined negligence as _“the omission to do something which a reasonable man would do, or doing something which a reasonable and prudent man would not do.”_ He noted that in negligence, the burden is on the claimant to prove duty of care, breach, and damages on the balance of probabilities.On evidence, the court observed that:– *CW1 and CW2* were alleged eyewitnesses to the transfer from dialysis to ICU.CW3, a medical doctor, testified based on information relayed to him by the claimant on 26-10-2022. The court classified portions of CW3’s evidence as hearsay and therefore inadmissible, citing the Supreme Court decision in _Aladou v. Ogbo_.The defendant called DW4, Mr. Mangun Mangai, a nurse in the dialysis unit, who testified that oxygen was never removed from the patient except when changing from mobile to a bigger cylinder, and that there was no difficulty in affixing the oxygen. DW4 also stated he was the one who changed the ventilator.Justice Shaseet held that it was within the defendant’s discretion to call witnesses, and the failure to call the nurses who wheeled the patient to ICU did not amount to withholding evidence under Section 167D of the Evidence Act. He further held that the claimant was at liberty to subpoena any nurse she believed had vital evidence but did not.On medical evidence, DW1, Prof. Isaac Ejenbe Ochake and DW2, Dr. Dinka John Yabubu testified that the deceased had End-Stage Renal Disease, severe hypertension, severe anemia, and other complications. They stated that his chances of survival without kidney transplant or regular dialysis were slim, and that his condition had deteriorated by the time he was brought in on 5-9-2022. The witnesses were not effectively cross-examined to dislodge their evidence.JudgmentThe court held that the claimant failed to establish that the staff of JUTH breached their duty of care, and that the death of the deceased five days later was not sufficiently linked to the alleged act of negligence.“According to the evidence before the court, the claim of the claimant failed and the case is hereby dismissed,”_ Justice Shaseet ruled.
Counsel React
Speaking to journalists after judgment, *Dr. Tobias Ngufuwan*, Counsel to JUTH, expressed satisfaction with the decision.
“We’re satisfied with what the court decided. That has been our position: that our clients were not negligent in any way. From the evidence, even from the evidence that the claimants led, there was nothing showing that our clients were negligent because our clients did what they could to save the deceased. Unfortunately, the deceased came at a point when it was, strictly speaking, too late medically to save him,”_ he said.
On a possible appeal, Dr. Ngufuwan said: _“If they decide to appeal, we’re there. But given how clear the evidence was, I don’t think they will contemplate an appeal. It’s not a victory we are celebrating because we are conscious that the claimant lost her son.”_
Also reacting, Barr. Stephen Ahile Counsel to the claimant, said they would study the judgment.
“The court has delivered the judgment and we submit to the wisdom of the court. However, we will study the judgment and properly advise the claimant. Our contention was that the defendants were negligent. A fundamental issue is that the nurses who wheeled the deceased are the proper persons to say whether he was on oxygen. None of the witnesses said positively that he was on oxygen,”_ he stated.
He added that the court also did not pronounce on the competence of DW1’s witness statement, which the claimant’s team had challenged.
You can recall that judges are on vacation but Hon Justice N D Shaseet applied for Fiat through the chief Judge to deliver the judgement.
The case has now been concluded at the trial court level