Twist as police exhume preterm baby’s remains, arrest mother over false report

A suspected baby theft case in Benin City has taken a dramatic twist, with the Edo State Police Command exhuming the remains of a preterm baby and arresting the child’s mother for allegedly making a false report.

The development followed a fresh breakthrough by detectives investigating the alleged disappearance of the baby, initially reported to have been stolen after delivery.

The police also arrested another woman for alleged complicity, bringing to five the number of suspects taken into custody in connection with the case.

The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Eno Ikoedem, disclosed this in an exclusive update on the investigation.

The baby’s mother, Princess Oke, had earlier this month accused Dr Osaze Okungbowa, 46, and a nurse, Dorcas Falade, 36, of Grace Health Maternity Healthcare, along Upper Sokponba Road, Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area, of conspiring to sell her newborn baby boy.

Princess Oke told the police that she regained consciousness after delivery only to find the placenta, while she was later informed that her baby had died.

She rejected the explanation, insisting that the baby was alive and demanded that the suspects produce her child.

The report prompted the state Commissioner of Police, CP Monday Agbonika, now AIG to order the immediate arrest of the doctor, who denied the allegation during his parade before journalists in Benin City, on July 5.

The embattled Dr Okungbowa told investigators that the baby was born prematurely at 35 weeks’ gestation and died while being transported in an incubator to another hospital as the remains were subsequently buried in a cemetery.

The doctor also clarified that, contrary to his title, he was not a qualified medical doctor but worked at the facility as an auxiliary nurse.

As the investigation deepened, the police arrested Nurse Falade and one Godwin Atekha, 49, over alleged complicity.

But a major breakthrough came when detectives recently traced the baby’s grave and exhumed the remains, throwing the initial baby-theft allegation into fresh controversy.

According to the police, preliminary findings suggested that the case may have involved an alleged attempt to terminate the pregnancy, rather than the theft of a newborn as initially reported.

The police alleged that Princess Oke had gone to the facility to terminate the pregnancy against her mother’s advice and did not informed her mother that she was visiting the facility on the day of the incident.

Based on the findings, it was scooped that investigators subsequently arrested her for allegedly making a false report.

The Anti-Violent Crimes Unit has been directed to unravel the circumstances surrounding the baby’s death and burial and determine whether the case involved child trafficking or any other related criminal offence.

A source said some of the suspects have been granted bail while the doctor remained in police custody as of the time of filing this report.