ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria's first lady Patience Jonathan has returned home to the nation's capital following a mystery illness that kept her abroad for weeks.
The state-run Nigerian Television Authority cut into its programming Wednesday afternoon to show Jonathan waving from a presidential jet on the tarmac of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. The first lady briefly spoke with a strained voice, saying that "God has given me a second chance." She did not explain the illness that had kept her away from the country, but denied she had cosmetic surgery.
In September, Patience Jonathan disappeared from public view. Authorities have refused to say publicly why she left the country. An official later told The Associated Press the first lady fell ill with "food poisoning" and needed to be hospitalized in Germany.
