Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The family of a 44-year-old Lagos woman is demanding an urgent investigation into her death, which they allege was caused by gross medical negligence after a doctor left a pair of surgical scissors inside her abdomen during a fibroid operation. Blessing Okolie, who underwent the procedure at OAR Medical Centre in the Abule Egba area on 28 March 2026, died less than two weeks later after developing a severe infection that ravaged her body. Her sister, media personality Beady Nnanna, has publicly accused the hospital and the attending doctor, Dr Abiodun Ojifinni, of a litany of failures, from a botched operation to inadequate post‑operative care and a refusal to carry out timely scans that could have saved Blessing’s life.
Blessing had struggled with a large fibroid for years. Her sister told the Punch newspaper that the condition was so pronounced that strangers often mistook her for being pregnant, and that the strain contributed to the breakdown of her marriage. Determined to improve her health, Blessing opted for surgery. On the morning of 28 March, she was wheeled into the operating theatre at OAR Medical Centre. Her sister said that after being in the theatre for nearly five hours, Blessing was brought out and laid on a bench rather than taken to a recovery room. In the following days, her condition inexplicably worsened. She complained of severe abdominal pain, her stomach began to swell, and a greenish fluid started draining from her body. Despite the family’s repeated pleas for a scan to establish what had gone wrong, the hospital reportedly dismissed their concerns, accusing them of interfering.
It was only after another doctor intervened that a scan was eventually carried out. The result was staggering: a pair of surgical scissors had been left inside Blessing’s abdomen. A second operation was performed to remove the foreign object, but by then, according to the family, Blessing was already too weak to fight the infection that had taken hold. Matters escalated further on 11 April, when the hospital allegedly ran out of fuel for its generator while Blessing was on oxygen support. The family rushed her to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), where she was diagnosed with severe sepsis. She died within 24 hours of admission.
Dr Abiodun Ojifinni, Medical Director of OAR Medical Centre, confirmed that Blessing Okolie underwent a myomectomy at the facility. In a brief statement, he said she was initially fine but later developed sepsis. He has not publicly addressed the allegation that a surgical instrument was left inside her abdomen. The hospital also has not commented on the allegation that it ran out of fuel while a patient was on oxygen support. The family has called on the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiyya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, to intervene, and has vowed to press for a full investigation. As of press time, the Lagos State Ministry of Health had not issued a statement, and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria had not announced whether any disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against the doctor.
The death of Blessing Okolie is the latest in a string of cases that have raised urgent questions about patient safety and regulatory oversight in Nigeria’s healthcare sector. Medical negligence claims often languish for years in the courts, and victims’ families face substantial financial and legal barriers to obtaining redress. The Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee has the power to suspend or strike off doctors found guilty of professional misconduct, but the process is notoriously slow. Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government, which has committed to strengthening healthcare regulation in line with its “T.H.E.M.E.S. Plus” development agenda, has yet to announce any specific measures in response to this case.
For Blessing Okolie’s family, the pain is compounded by the knowledge that her death might have been avoided. “My sister is dead, but the hospital is still functioning and the doctor is still working,” her brother, Okolie Nzubechukwu Caleb, told Per Second News. “We want accountability so that no other family will go through this kind of pain.” As the family prepares for her funeral, they have also begun consultations with lawyers to explore civil and criminal remedies. The case serves as a grim reminder that behind every statistic of medical negligence is a human being whose life has been cut short, and a family left to grapple with a loss that no amount of legal action can ever fully heal.
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