A yet-to-be identified woman, on Tuesday, stole a newborn baby at the postnatal ward of Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH) Lafia, capital of Nasarawa State.
Speaking to newsmen about the incident at the hospital, Mrs Wosilat Suleiman, mother of the one-day old baby, said her child was stolen around 6:00am on Tuesday, Jan. 9.
The mother explained that she gave birth to the baby boy through Cesarean Section (CS) around 3:00am on Tuesday.
“My relations that were looking after me introduced the strange woman she met at the ward to me when she wanted to go home to pick something.
“She told me that the woman will take care of me and the baby before she returns from the house.
“My relations thought that the woman had a patient at the ward and she trusted her to help us before she returned.
“The woman told me that she wanted to bathe the baby and disappeared with him,” she added.
She therefore, appealed to the relevant authorities to help her find her baby as she was still going through pains.
Confirming the incident, Dr. Mohammed Salihu, the Acting Head of Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, exonerated the staff of the hospital from the act.
Dr. Salihu said the hospital has put various security measures in place for the safety of the patients and staff.
He added that the hospital has over seventy security personnel that guide the facility with members of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), a police post and CCTV cameras for proper check of both human and vehicular movement.
Dr. Salihu, who said the hospital management has since reported the case to the police and other security agencies, also noted that the police have invited some people whom they think might have useful information to assist in the investigation.
“The baby was delivered through Cesarean Section (CS) around 3:00am on Tuesday and immediately after the surgery, the baby was handed over to the caregiver. The caregiver wanted to go and get something and she decided to give the baby to a total stranger and the stranger took the baby away in the disguise that she wanted to bathe the baby,” the HOD said.
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