Police in Benue have arrested some suspects over the theft of a newborn baby in a hospital in the Gboko area of the state.
State Police Public Relations Officer, Peter Aondongu, disclosed this on Thursday, stressing that the baby had been recovered.
The PPRO said, “I can confirm to you that some suspects have been arrested in connection with the theft of a newborn baby in Gboko on Tuesday.
“Some of the suspects were earlier transferred to the state headquarters in Makurdi while other suspects are in police custody at Gboko division right now.”
It was gathered that the baby was allegedly stolen from his mother in the hospital a few hours after he was delivered on Tuesday.
The incident reportedly attracted family members, sympathisers and other concerned persons to the hospital, creating tension within and around the facility. It was also gathered that security operatives were subsequently deployed to the healthcare centre to prevent the breakdown of law and order.
An eyewitness who pleaded anonymity, told newsmen on Wednesday that the alleged thief had been following the baby’s mother disguised as a nurse working in the hospital.
According to the eyewitness, the baby was said not to be responding at the time he was born, which prompted the nurse to move the mother and the baby to a ward for further care.
The eyewitness alleged that shortly after they were moved to the ward, a woman, who camouflaged as a nurse, approached the mother and asked to examine the baby again.
Believing that the woman was a nurse working in the hospital, the mother obliged and handed the baby over to the strange nurse, who was said to have taken the baby towards the labour room. She told the baby’s grandmother, who was in the hospital, to step aside, as she assured that everything was under control.
It was later that they discovered that the newborn baby was missing.
According to the witness, “Immediately after the baby was born, the infant did not cry as expected. The nurse on duty reportedly intervened, and the newborn eventually responded normally.
“Thereafter, both the mother and the baby were taken to a ward. Not long after, an alleged child trafficker approached the mother of the newborn under the pretence of being one of the nurses.
“The suspect claimed they wanted to check the baby once again. The trafficker then took the baby from the mother and headed toward the labour room.
“Sensing something amiss, the mother-in-law who had been with her daughter-in-law followed and stood at the labour room’s entrance, but she was instructed to step back, with assurances that everything would be fine; so she complied. Shortly afterwards, the strange woman disappeared with the newborn baby.”
It was gathered that while searching for the baby, the nurses on duty reportedly denied taking the baby from the ward and also said the woman who allegedly presented herself as a nurse was not a member of their team.
