Idara Bassey, a Lagos State medical doctor who was declared wanted in connection with a 36-year-old woman’s death during a buttock augmentation procedure at a clinic in Lekki Phase 1, is currently in police custody.
On Tuesday, our reporter gathered from the state police public relations officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, that Bassey is currently under investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Panti.
Bassey had earlier left after Abiola died from a buttock augmentation surgery at her clinic on August 26, 2024.
The Brazilian Butt Lift is a cosmetic surgery technique in which fat is removed from other places of the body and injected into the buttocks to increase fullness and create a rounder contour.
Numerous medical professionals have warned about the procedure’s potential hazards, particularly since the death of Melissa Kerr, a 31-year-old British woman, during a similar surgery at Istanbul’s Medicana Kadikoy Hospital in 2019.
According to a BBC story from 2023, the deceased were not provided enough information to appropriately assess the dangers of BBL surgery before flying to have it performed.
Despite warnings about the risks of the augmentation technique, more videos have emerged online showing women, particularly in Lagos, claiming to have undergone the surgery successfully.
While the police confirmed that the nurse who administered the injection to the late 36-year-old had been arrested, the clinic’s owner became a suspect in the case, particularly following her disappearance.
Chronicle NG reports that Abiola had visited the clinic for the buttock enlargement procedure, which tragically ended in her death after a nurse, allegedly acting under Bassey’s orders, administered an injection.
Earlier, she had left her home in the Diamond Estate, Sangotedo, in the Ibeju Lekki area and directed her driver to take her to the clinic for the surgery.
After the nurse allegedly gave Abiola the injection per the doctor’s orders, the chauffeur who drove her to the clinic claimed to the police that she had lost consciousness and was gasping for air.
When asked about the status of the probe on Tuesday, the police PRO indicated that the doctor is currently working with the SCID.
When asked if Bassey would face prosecution and on what grounds, he responded that answers would be supplied “after the investigation.”
