Eniola Yekini
The Benue State Police Command has arrested some suspects in connection with the theft of a newborn baby in the Gboko area of the state. The command’s spokesperson, Peter Aondongu, disclosed this while giving an update on the incident in a telephone interview yesterday, as he noted that the baby had been recovered.
“I can confirm to you that some suspects have been arrested in con- nection 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,” the PPRO said.
The baby, according to sources, was allegedly stolen from his moth- er 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 craved anonymity told journalists on 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 tak- en 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.