The sad passage of Nigeria’s former First Lady, Stella Obasanjo, remains one of the most widely discussed medical negligence cases involving a prominent African figure treated abroad.

Fresh details from court proceedings and earlier investigations show how a routine cosmetic procedure in Spain ended in fatal complications and a criminal conviction.

Routine Surgery Turned Fatal:

Stella Obasanjo, wife of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, died on October 23, 2005, in Marbella, Spain, after undergoing elective liposuction at the Molding Clinic.

The procedure, carried out by Spanish plastic surgeon Antonio Mena, was initially described as routine.

However, complications began during surgery when a cannula used for fat removal was wrongly inserted into her abdominal cavity.