The Nasarawa State Police Command says it has commenced an investigation into the stealing of a Newborn baby who was delivered through Caesarean Section by a 20-year-old woman at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia.
The newborn, a baby boy, was said to have been stolen a few hours after his birth on Tuesday, January 9, 2024, by a yet-to-be-identified stranger.
Speaking on the development during a press briefing in Lafia on Wednesday, the Commissioner of Police, Umar Shehu Nadada, said three suspects had so far been arrested in connection with the matter.
He said, “Yesterday (Tuesday), one Suleiman Abdullahi of Timber Shade went to A Division Police Station and reported that his wife had a Caesarean Section at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia.
“He narrated that his brother’s wife who was assisting his wife wanted to go home to get a charger but unfortunately handed over the child to an unknown woman.
“But when she came back to the ward, she could not find the child and the woman. That was how the matter was reported to us.
“I don’t think the matter is connected to ritualists but investigation is ongoing at the State Criminal Investigation Department.
The outcome of the investigation will be communicated to journalists in due time.”
Meanwhile, findings by our correspondent indicated that the incident occurred around 6am at the Post-natal Ward of the state-owned Specialist Hospital when the caregiver left the baby in the care of the stranger.
When interviewed to get her reaction on the development, the mother of the one-day-old baby, Wosilat Suleiman, said, “My relation who was looking after me introduced the strange woman she met in the ward to me before she went home to pick something.
“She told me that the woman would take care of me and the baby before she returned from the house.
“My relation thought the woman had a patient at the ward and she trusted her to help us before she returned.
“The woman told me she wanted to bathe the baby and disappeared with him.”
She, therefore, appealed to the relevant authorities to help her find her baby as she was going through unimaginable pains over the loss of her child.
Reacting to the incident, the Acting Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department of the hospital, Dr. Mohammed Salihu, said it was the first time that such a thing happened in the healthcare facility.
He further said that the management was collaborating with the police to unravel the suspect behind the dastardly act.
“Already, the relations of the mother of the baby have been arrested and some of our staff on duty were invited by the police for questioning.
“The management will review the CCTV footage with a view to arresting the culprit,” he added.
