The Lagos State Government has ordered a postmortem examination on nine-month-old identical twins, Testimony and Timothy Alozie, who reportedly died about 24 hours after receiving routine immunisation at a primary health care centre in the state.
The tragic incident sparked widespread public concern after the twins’ father, Samuel Alozie—popularly known as Promise Samuel on TikTok—shared viral videos showing the bodies of his sons in separate body bags, while alleging that they died shortly after vaccination.
In a follow-up video posted on Thursday, Alozie said he took the twins for routine immunisation on the morning of December 24, 2025. According to him, the children became unusually weak almost immediately after receiving the injections.
“They could not eat, they could not play, they could not even disturb as they used to. They were just weak,” he said.
Alozie explained that a nurse at the health centre advised that the twins be given paracetamol if their temperature increased. He said he and his wife administered the medication and also bathed the babies in cold water, but their condition failed to improve.
“The immunisation was conducted on the 24th of December in the morning, and on the morning of the 25th, they died,” he said.
“After the injection, they were very weak. They couldn’t talk, they couldn’t eat, they couldn’t play as usual. The two of them died at the same time.”
The distraught father maintained that the twins were healthy before the immunisation and that he had always ensured they received all routine vaccines since birth.
“I’m just confused. How can I lose two children, identical twins that I have suffered so much for? They were just nine months old and not sick. I only took them for immunisation to do the right thing,” he said.
Alozie also pointed out that the nurse who administered the last injections was not the regular health worker who usually attended to his children. He rejected preliminary explanations allegedly offered by the health centre that the deaths may have resulted from “food bacteria.”
“The nurse is talking about bacteria, food bacteria. How can food bacteria suddenly kill my children? The same food I have been giving them from one month to nine months did not kill them,” he said.
Reacting to the incident, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, Dr. Ibrahim Mustafa, confirmed that investigations were ongoing and that a postmortem had been ordered.
“We sympathise with the family and understand the grief they are going through,” Mustafa said in a phone interview. “The matter is being investigated by the police, and we are also conducting our own investigation as a state. We are awaiting the postmortem findings.”
He added that the bodies of the twins had been deposited at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital morgue and assured the public that the outcome of the investigation would be made known.
“This particular vaccine has been administered to many children before and after these children, and nothing like this has been recorded,” Mustafa said. “Once the postmortem findings are out, we will communicate appropriately.”
However, Alozie expressed fears that the investigation could be compromised to protect the government-owned health facility, describing the situation as “government to government.”
“Please, if you are a lawyer or a human rights lawyer, help me. I don’t have the money to fight this alone. I need justice for these children,” he pleaded.
The case has continued to generate intense public debate, renewing calls for transparency, accountability and stronger oversight of primary healthcare services in the state.