By Sunday Ameh
Nigeria has recorded what has been described as West Africa’s first tele-robotic surgery, after surgeons remotely performed a complex kidney operation on a patient in Abuja.
The procedure was carried out on Saturday through a collaboration between Redeemer’s Health Village (RHV), RoboMed Global and Nisa Premier Hospital.
The surgery involved a telesurgery-assisted, robot-assisted right radical nephrectomy, during which a kidney affected by a cancerous tumour was removed.
The operation was performed remotely from a Toumai robotic surgery console at RHV while the patient remained at Nisa Premier Hospital in Abuja.
Professor Obi Ekwenna-Davis, Professor of Urology and Transplantation and co-founder of RoboMed Global, led the procedure.
Ekwenna-Davis, a US-based surgeon, said the operation demonstrated that telesurgery could be safely used to provide specialist surgical care to patients in different locations.
He said the procedure lasted about three hours, with brief pauses to confirm that the equipment and communication systems were functioning properly.
According to him, the patient was in good condition and was expected to be discharged within 24 hours.
“Distance should never decide who receives safe surgery; this is what safe and trusted surgery looks like,” Ekwenna-Davis said.
He added that the procedure represented the first successful collaboration between two hospitals in different parts of Nigeria to provide surgical care through telesurgery.
Ekwenna-Davis said the long-term success of the initiative would depend on continuous training, announcing plans to establish a robotic academy that would train at least 150 surgeons within two years.
The programme, he said, has the support of the Minister of Health and other government institutions, while he called for additional support from private organisations and non-governmental groups.
The Chief Executive Officer of RHV, Dr Adedamola Dada, described the procedure as West Africa’s first telesurgery and said it demonstrated that Nigerians could access advanced healthcare without travelling abroad.
Dada said robotic surgery and telesurgery could contribute to reducing medical tourism by making complex procedures available locally.
He, however, identified reliable internet connectivity, quality equipment and skilled personnel as critical requirements for the success of remote surgery.
Dada also said RHV was establishing a robotic academy with RoboMed Global to train doctors, surgeons, nurses, biomedical engineers and product specialists.
He urged the government to provide scholarships and other support for Nigerian medical professionals seeking specialised training in robotic surgery.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer and founder of Nisa Premier Hospital, Dr Ibrahim Wada, said the hospital had been involved in robotic surgery in West Africa since November 2025.
Wada said the latest procedure allowed a patient in Abuja to receive specialist surgical expertise from doctors in another location without leaving the city.
The Chairman of the RHV Board, Dr Kunle Onakoya, described the operation as a historic development in Nigeria’s healthcare sector.
RHV is a 300-bed multispecialty hospital established by the Redeemed Christian Church of God.
Journalists at the facility watched the procedure live on television.
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