During the 2003 elections, First Lady Stella Obasanjo accompanied her husband, General Olusegun Obasanjo, who was running for president, at a polling place close to their Abeokuta residence. Two years later, on October 23, 2005, Stella Obasanjo, then 59 years old, passed away at a private health clinic in Puerto Banús, Marbella, Spain, due to problems following cosmetic surgery.
The surgeon, who was only given the name “AM” in court, was found guilty in September 2009 of “causing homicide through negligence” and was given a one-year prison sentence. In addition, he was barred from practicing medicine for three years and had to compensate Stella Obasanjo’s son with €120,000, or roughly US$176,000.
The prosecution had asked for a five-year ban and a two-year prison sentence.Additionally, a request for payment to the Nigerian government was turned down. A tube intended for a liposuction surgery had been lost by the doctor and ended up within Obasanjo’s abdomen.
She passed just two days following surgery, having suffered a lacerated liver and pierced colon.It was stated that the doctor left Obasanjo for four hours after the operation and did not pick up his cell phone right away. It is believed that she might have survived her injuries if she had been admitted to the hospital in time.