A yet-to-be identified woman stole a new-born baby boy at the postnatal ward of Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia, Nasarawa State on Tuesday.
Mother of the one-day-old baby, Wosilat Suleiman, told newsmen she delivered the baby early on Tuesday.
She said the baby came through the Caesarean Section.
Suleiman said: “My relative that 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.”
Suleiman appealed to relevant authorities to help her to find her baby as she was still going through pains.
Reacting to the incident, the hospital management expressed regret that the theft happened in spite of strict security measures put in place in the facility to protect patients and staff.
The hospital’s Acting Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department, Dr. Mohammed Salihu, said it was the first time such a theft was witnessed in the hospital.
He explained that Suleiman was delivered of the baby at about 3am and the baby was handed over to her relation before mother and child were transferred to the postnatal ward.
Salihu added that unfortunately the relative of the mother of the baby entrusted a strange woman to look after her sister on account of the fact that she wanted to pick something from the house.
He said further that the hospital management had reported the matter to the police and investigation was ongoing to unravel the case.
“Already, the relation of the mother of the baby has been arrested and some of our staff on duty were invited by the police for questioning,” he said.
Salihu promised that management would review the CCTV footage in the hospital to arrest the culprit.
