Nigeria's First Lady Still In German Hospital, Aides Told To Get Ready To Leave Soon

By SaharaReporters, New York

Contrary to reports that Nigeria's First Lady, Patience Jonathan, has been discharged from her hospital in Wiesbaden, Germany and checked into a hotel, SaharaReporters has learnt from medical sources in the city that she was there until at least 6p.m. local time.

We have also learnt that the presidency instructed the hospital to discharge her so that she can continue her treatment in Abuja.  Her aides, who are living in hotels in Wiesbaden, have been told to pack their bags in readiness to return to Abuja.

A reliable source told SaharaReporters that immense pressure has been piled on the hospital management to allow Mrs. Jonathan go back to Nigeria where she will continue her therapy, a measure that will forestall further embarrassment of her husband, President Goodluck Jonathan.

A local newspaper reported yesterday that Mrs. Jonathan had been discharged from the hospital and checked into a hotel, but a source told SaharaReporters today that the First Lady receives treatment in a room at the hospital with a five-star hotel room status.  Since she is a private suite reserved for queens and kings, the source said it was absurd to check her into a hotel room in preparation for departure.

A presidency source also confirmed Mr. Jonathan’s order that the First Lady be brought home, as a result of which she might be airlifted back Nigeria any moment from now.

Mrs. Jonathan's exact medical diagnosis remains shrouded in secrecy. Saharareporters has carefully followed her case since she was airlifted from Abuja to Germany one month ago when we were first told that she had suffered food poisoning.  Our investigations however revealed that she had first gone to Dubai to undergo a procedure which went awry, leaving her unable to speak for about one week after arriving Germany.

Upon returning to Nigeria, some sort of medical emergency then developed, and she was rushed in an air ambulance to Germany, where she underwent surgery to remove uterine fibroids. She had barely recovered sufficiently when her condition was reportedly exacerbated by Parkinson disease.

Yesterday, the Lagos-based PM News revealed that Mrs. Jonathan has uterine cancer. Through all this, the presidency has made no statements.