The police in Kwara State have launched an inquiry into the loss of a newborn baby’s umbilical cord and placenta at the Government Cottage Hospital in Iloffa, Oke-Ero Local Government Area of the state.
Mrs. C. Williams, a class teacher at Orota Secondary School in Odo-Owa, claimed to have given birth on Sunday night but was not given the umbilical cord or placenta by medical officials.
It was gathered that five of the workers were later arrested in connection with the missing parts and are being held by the command’s general investigation unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department in Ilorin.
The suspects arrested by the police include a resident doctor, three nurses, and a ward attendant at the hospital.
According to reports, the police were invited when efforts to settle the dispute at various levels failed.
It was also revealed that it needed the efforts of Odo-Owa community leaders to calm some furious teenagers who suspected foul play and were going to burn down the hospital on Tuesday due to the occurrence.
Mrs. Williams, while recounting her journey, stated that she was transported to the hospital after suffering labour pains on Sunday afternoon and gave birth to a baby at 7 p.m. the same day.
“I was feeling some labour pains on Sunday, and I got to the cottage hospital some minutes past 1 p.m. on Sunday and told the nurse I met on duty that I was having contractions; she was the one that attended to me after confirming that I was truly in labour.
“She took me into the labour room and asked me to wait because I still had more time. Not quite long after I came, the doctor also came in and instructed the nurse to usher me into the labour room,” she said.
She stated that the morning after giving birth, she was discharged and permitted to go home.
She claimed that when the medical staff requested her to go, they gave her a bag containing her belongings but did not give her the placenta or the baby’s umbilical cord.
“Although they handed a black nylon bag to me, I discovered that there were two missing items inside the nylon; they are the umbilical cord and the placenta,” she said.
When contacted, Police Public Relations Officer Ejire-Adeyemi Toun confirmed the occurrence and stated that the inquiry was underway.
“The police are investigating the incident, and five suspects have been arrested in connection with it,” the PPRO said.
