Four years after the death of former Nigeria’s first Lady, Stella Obasanjo, respite seem to have come the way of her immediate family, especially her only son, all of who feared that Stella’s death was unjust.Last week, a Spanish court jailed the surgeon who performed the fatal surgery on Stella in Oct 2005. The surgeon simply identified as Raymond Roige was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to one year imprisonment by the South Malaga Court. The judgement also barred the surgeon from practising medicine for three years saying he was reckless in the way he handled late Stella’s surgery.
The Court said the blood loss and internal injuries she suffered at the Moulding Clinic in Marbella, Spain, could have been treated without any complications, if they had been detected on time. But Stella was reportedly abandoned for close to four hours after the surgery and made to bleed to death due to negligence of the surgeon. This happened as a result of the Cannola (A thin tube put into the body to extract fat) perforating her abdominal cavity, causing five incisions to her liver and colon. Mrs Obasanjo fell unconscious and doctors could not revive her.
Surprisingly, the doctor who performed the liposuction surgery on Stella, had done about 300 successful surgeries in the past.
From left, Stella's son Muyiwa, Obasnajo and Muyiwa's wife
Added to the one year jail sentence and three year ban, the doctor is to pay 120, 000 pounds (about N26million) in compensation to the late Stella’s son, Muyiwa.
During the trail, the surgeon denied responsibility, saying that the intervention and post operative procedure were ‘Perfectly normal’. He also said the age of the patient, who suffered from hypertension and asthma presented no objection.
May her soul continue to rest in peace. Amen. *
