What began as a medical crisis for one twin ended in an unimaginable double tragedy for a Yobe family, as two sisters—a medical doctor and a pharmacist—died just two days apart.
Dr Hadiyah Usman Abdullahi and her twin sister, Aidah Usman Abdullahi, were both healthcare professionals and daughters of Professor Hadiza Abdullahi Usman, the Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Nguru, Yobe State.
Hadiyah died on Friday, October 2, 2026, after complications linked to sickle cell disease. Her twin sister, Aidah, died two days later, on Sunday, October 4.
The sequence of events has left relatives, colleagues and friends grappling with a loss that came with devastating speed.
Hadiyah had reportedly been admitted at FMC Nguru for about a week after suffering a sickle cell crisis. Despite medical attention, her condition deteriorated and she died on Friday.
Her remains were subsequently laid to rest following funeral prayers at the Emir’s Palace.
For the family, the burial should have marked the beginning of the difficult process of mourning and coming to terms with the loss.
But tragedy was not yet over.
Aidah had also been receiving treatment at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital around the same period. She reportedly responded to treatment and was discharged, raising hopes that she would be spared the fate that had befallen her twin.
Two days after Hadiyah’s burial, Aidah went to her sister’s grave.
It was there, according to reports, that she suddenly fainted. She was rushed to hospital for medical attention but later died.
The Federal Medical Centre, Nguru, confirmed her death in a Facebook post, referring to Aidah as “the second twin” of Professor Usman.
The sisters’ deaths have cast a spotlight on the unpredictable and potentially devastating complications associated with sickle cell disease.
The inherited blood disorder can trigger painful crises and complications affecting vital organs. While modern medical care has significantly improved the management of sickle cell disease, severe complications can still prove fatal.
What makes the tragedy particularly poignant is that both sisters had built careers within the health sector.
Hadiyah was a medical doctor, while Aidah was a pharmacist. Their professional lives were therefore closely connected to the very healthcare system in which they sought treatment.
Their deaths also highlight the personal dimension of sickle cell disease, a condition often discussed in statistics and medical reports but experienced by families through recurring hospital admissions, painful crises and, in the worst cases, the loss of loved ones.
For Professor Usman, the tragedy has been compounded by the loss of both daughters within a span of just 48 hours.
For their colleagues and the wider medical community, the deaths represent the loss of two young professionals whose careers were dedicated to healthcare.
And for those who knew them personally, the story is ultimately not just about sickle cell disease, but about twin sisters whose lives were closely intertwined until death separated them—only to bring another devastating loss two days later.
The circumstances surrounding their deaths have left a profound question hanging over the family and all who have been touched by their story: how does a family begin to mourn when grief arrives twice, almost at once?
