Police arrest doctor, nurses over missing placenta

The doctor was arrested alongside the nurses over the mysterious disappearance of umbilical cord and placenta of a newly born baby at the hospital situated in Iloffa in Oke-Ero Local Government Area of Kwara State.

A woman identified as C. B. A. Williams, a Class Teacher at Orota Secondary School, Odo-Owa in the Oke-Ero council area reportedly gave birth to a baby, while the umbilical cord and the placenta were yet to be given to her by the hospital workers as at the time of this report.

Five health workers who are suspects in the matter are currently being detained by the General Investigation Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department of the command in Ilorin, Kwara State Capital.

It was gathered that the police were later involved when efforts to settle the controversy at various layers of hierarchies in the local government failed.

It was further gathered that it took spirited efforts of elders of the Odo-Owa community to calm the fray nerves of restive youths who suspected foul play and were about to burn down the hospital over the incident.

Williams, while narrating her ordeal, said that she was rushed to the hospital while experiencing labour pains and gave birth to a baby at about 7:00 pm the same day.

“I was feeling some labour pains on Sunday and I got to the Cottage hospital, some minutes past 1:00 pm on Sunday, and told the particular Nurse Adeloye 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.

“In the course of the delivery, it was one nurse Alabi who took the delivery, and nurse Adeloye and the Ward Attendant identified as Mrs Toyin were the three people present,” Punch quoted her as saying.

She said that she delivered the baby and was in the hospital till the following morning before she was discharged and allowed to go to her home.

Williams, however, said that the hospital workers gave her a nylon containing her personal items but did not give her the placenta and the umbilical cord of the baby when they asked her to go home.

When contacted, Police Public Relations Officer, Kwara State Police Command, Ejire-Adeyemi Toun confirmed the incident, adding that the investigation is ongoing.