How did you first feel when your baby was declared missing, and what went through your mind in that moment?
I felt confused and traumatised. But what went through my mind was that the strange woman in the ward was responsible and it turned out to be true.
From the beginning, I didn’t trust her, but I never imagined she could go that far. The thought that someone I saw with my own eyes could take my child was terrifying. I was just praying she hadn’t harmed the baby.
Strange woman? How do you mean?
Yes, she was someone we met right there in the ward. She pretended to be a patient, like someone waiting to deliver her own baby.
She was overly friendly and too interested in our baby, even though we didn’t know her. At some point, I started feeling uncomfortable with how she kept hovering around us. But it never crossed my mind that she had bad intentions.
Can you describe the hours after the incident. How did you cope emotionally during the search?
I was in the mosque when my wife called me, shouting that the woman had carried our baby away. I was deeply troubled and rushed straight to the health centre.
When I got there, I asked my wife what happened. She told me the woman collected the baby and asked her to go take a bath , and then she disappeared. I collapsed immediately, and my wife also went down. We were both crying and helpless. I was on the floor, sweating and confused for more than 30 minutes before people around helped me up and encouraged me to stay strong and follow up with the police search.
My body was just shaking all day. I couldn’t eat for the whole three days and I couldn’t sleep, as I stayed awake thinking about how my baby would be found. From Monday to Wednesday, I couldn’t eat anything.
I was just restless. My mind wasn’t settled. Every passing hour felt like a year, and the thought of not seeing my baby again was killing me inside. I kept praying, hoping, and begging God for a miracle.
What kind of support did you receive from the hospital staff, community members, and the police during the ordeal?
It was both positive and negative. The DPO of the area came and told me to take heart and stop crying, saying the child would be found and recovered. The DPO and other personnel immediately swung into action. But some people around were saying I knew the woman, and I told them I didn’t know her. Even she doesn’t speak Hausa fluently. She would greet us in Hausa and we would respond. I am suspecting that some of the hospital staff connived with the woman. You know why? How would they admit somebody to the ward and allow her to sleep on the bed without going through the normal process?
One of my brother’s wives came and gave my wife some bread and beverages, but some were claiming it was the woman who stole the baby that brought them. But she didn’t even give my wife ordinary sachet water. Also, the nurse and other staff went to bring a lawyer and were telling me that I and the woman planned to sell my baby. Is that possible?
But I thank the police for their support. They really helped me and my family while we were searching and looking for the baby. They told me to relax and assured me that my baby would be found. They were able to track and arrest the woman using a receipt from a store where she bought an item.
How did you feel when the police informed you that your baby had been found safe?
I was very, very happy to hear the good news from the police that my baby had been found and recovered. Now I can return to my place of work. I didn’t go to work yesterday because a lot of people came around to congratulate me.
All through your wife’s antenatal period, did she see or speak to the suspect before the incident? If yes, what was her impression of her at the time?
No. neither myself or my wife I had seen the woman who stole my baby before, and she too didn’t know or see us before that day. The first time she came to the hospital was on Sunday.
There were four women there, including my wife who had just put to bed. She joined them, pretending to be pregnant, and everyone thought it was a real pregnancy. She greeted everyone there and sat on a chair beside me.
My wife was on a bed on the other side, and the woman greeted her in Hausa. She also greeted me in Hausa and asked whether the baby was a boy or a girl. I told her it was a boy, and she said, “Congratulations.” My first impression of her at that moment was that she came to the hospital to be delivered of her baby too, not that she was there for anything criminal.
What lessons or warnings would you like to share with other parents, especially in public health facilities?
I want to advise those whose wives or relatives have just put to bed at any hospital to ensure that they have a trustworthy person or persons staying with the woman throughout her time there.
To the government, there is a need to always engage competent and experienced security personnel to secure health facilities both day and night.
All health workers at such facilities must also be vigilant and security-conscious. I have the feeling that the security man on duty didn’t do his job. When I was going to the mosque around 5:30 a.m., he stopped me to ask where I was going, but it seems he was nowhere to be found when the woman was taking the baby away.
When the DPO asked where he was at the time of the incident, he said he was in the toilet. But at the police headquarters, he told the CP that he was on duty.
Also, at night, before people in the ward go to bed, hospital staff should always come around to identify real visitors or those staying with patients, especially women who have just put to bed, so that criminals are not allowed into the facility.
Now that your baby has been safely returned, what steps are you taking to ensure your family’s emotional recovery and safety going forward?
I have resolved to always encourage my wife to stay close to her workplace and among people she knows well. I also make sure never to leave our children with strangers or allow them to go to places that are unsafe or unfamiliar to them. Right now, we have a close neighbor who is staying with my wife to keep her company and help take care of the children.
