By Joke Kujenya
NIGERIA’s EX-president Muhammadu Buhari’s death has been reported to have occurred at the London Clinic in Marylebone, United Kingdom, on Sunday.
This is the same private hospital he frequented for medical treatment throughout his presidency. He was 82.
Tucked away on 22 Devonshire Place, the London Clinic is reportedly renown for its discretion and elite clientele, including global heads of state, royalty and celebrities.
This is the same prestigious clinic where the Princess of Wales, Kate, 42, is recovering following a successful abdominal surgery, according to the Buckingham Palace confirmation.
Kate had been admitted for the planned procedure and is expected to remain in hospital before continuing her recovery at home.
Buhari’s reliance on the facility spanned years, with at least 230 days spent on medical trips to the UK while in office, often without any public disclosure of his condition or the specific nature of treatment received.
Throughout his eight-year presidency, the former military general frequently travelled to London for medical attention.
Despite consistent media speculation, his aides remained tight-lipped, only confirming that he was receiving care abroad.
Even after his tenure ended, his visits to the clinic continued.
Last Friday, former presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu announced that Buhari had been discharged from a London hospital.
He reportedly died from leukaemia.
Although official confirmation of the specific facility was never given, the consistency of his location and communications from aides point to the London Clinic as his longstanding medical destination.
The hospital’s history of attending to world figures adds to the weight of such speculation.
The London Clinic has hosted many political and royal figures over the decades.
Former US President John F Kennedy and UK Prime Ministers Clement Attlee and Sir Anthony Eden were once patients.
British politician Cecil Parkinson died there in 2016, while David Cameron was born at the hospital in 1966.
Chilean ex-leader Augusto Pinochet was under treatment at the same facility in 1998 when he was arrested over human rights abuses.
Notable royal patients include Prince Philip and Princess Margaret, while current monarch King Charles III also receives care at the facility.
In January, the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, underwent abdominal surgery there, which later sparked a major data breach investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office after reports of unauthorised access to her medical records.
According to the Independent Healthcare Providers Network, the London Clinic is the UK’s largest independent charitable hospital, handling nearly 195,000 patient cases annually.
It offers over 155 medical treatments, including specialties in oncology, haematology, spinal surgery, neurosurgery, and robotic procedures.
With seven major theatres and six wards dedicated to surgical specialisms, the hospital has served global elites since opening its doors in 1932.
Buhari’s medical history became a significant element of his presidency.
His first documented trip to the UK for treatment occurred in February 2016. That same year, he returned for an ear infection.
By January 2017, he had embarked on a 50-day medical stay, followed shortly by a 104-day trip for further treatment.
Additional visits followed in May 2018, March 2021, and twice in 2022. His final trip during office was a dual-purpose visit—to attend King Charles’s coronation and receive dental care.
Buhari was 11 when the London Clinic was founded. It later became his enduring retreat for private medical attention far from the public scrutiny of home.
With agency reports. . .
