We had a set of twins – Couple insists
Joy Anyim
A 31-year-old woman, Mrs Obinna Faith, has accused a Catholic Hospital, St. Raphael Divine Mercy Specialist Hospital, Ikorodu in Lagos, of stealing her twin baby during delivery.
Faith, who said she had registered at the faith-based hospital in November 2019, four months into pregnancy, claimed she had delivered a set of twins on March 6, 2020.
Backing her claim, the Ebonyi-born woman, stated that three different scan results, done before the delivery date, had showed she was carrying a set of twins.
In a detailed narration on how her baby allegdly got missing, Faith said after she had registered for antenatal, she was assigned a Gynaecologist, simply identified as Doctor Uzoma, who attended to her until she delivered.
Faith, an auxiliary nurse, who said she gave birth through ceaserean-section, claimed she had told Uzoma, and the hospital authority not to put her on sedative during delivery.
According to her, the plea fell on deaf ears, as she sedated, making her partly unconscious during the entire episode. Faith maintained that even in that state, she saw the doctors, deliver her of her twins.
She however expressed shock saying when she woke up to reality, she was told she had delivered only a baby boy.
The distraught woman said she and her husband, Obinna Alo, had raised alarm over the sudden disappearance of their other baby, but was told by the Chief Medical Director and hospital officials, that the scan made a mistake.
In a bid to unravel the mystery surrounding the sudden disappearance of their baby, the couple had requested for the scan results showing Faith was carrying a set of twins babies but were denied the result by the hospital.
“ I want my baby, I know how many bannes I delivered on March 6, this year. Although the hospital had injected me with a sedative against my wish, I was still aware of my surrounding, and I saw when two babies were brought out of me. Even the three scan results I had during pregnancy, proved the same.
“ That hospital knows what happened to my baby. I delivered twin babies and that I am sure of. The hospital should tell me what happened to my baby. If only I had known, I wouldn’t have agreed to the caesarean session. It was because I lost my second child during delivery at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), while in Katsina, and had also injured my uterus, which gave the need for the C-section.
“ This is my fourth year in Lagos after we had relocated from Katsina State, and the reason why I went to that hospital was that it was a faith-based hospital, and I thought I would be treated well, and safe. I even saw it in my dream that I had twin boys before I got pregnant with the babies, so I am sure my baby was stolen,” Faith said.
She stated further: “ Days after I had delivered and my husband and a few family members and myself approached the hospital, insisting they gave us the scan results because that was the only tangible proof we had that we had twins, but the hospital refused to release the results. A Reverend Father and a Sister came to talk to us, begging that we let the matter be. They even told us to calculate all we had spent buying baby things for the twins, that they will repay us.
“ When we refused, they asked us to name our price, that they are willing to compensate us so that we don’t let the matter out on social media and news platforms. They claimed they did not want the reputation of the hospital tarnished. We still refused and insisted on getting the scan result, which was later released to our pastor, who had been involved in the matter. They begged us not to get the media into the matter. ”
The matter was reported at Ijede Police Division. The couple had also lodged a complaint at the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID), Alagbon, Lagos, seeking for justice.
They are also pleading with the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu, and the Lagos State Government, to come to their aid, and unravel the mystery behind their missing baby.
Alo, who also spoke on the sudden disappearance of his twin, said; “ The day my wife delivered, I was sent out of the theatre, they asked me to go, that I will be called when my wife delivers. When I heard it was a baby and not twins, I was surprised because the scan result had told us otherwise. My wife told me she saw the doctors deliver her of twins although she didn’t know the sexes.
“ I even dreamt she had a twin. I alerted my family heads of the development, and they insisted the hospital must produce the missing baby. I reported the matter to the police at Ikorodu and even a few other police formations, but no luck. I went ahead to FCIID, Alagbon to register my complaint. The hospital authority was invited and we were interviewed by the Assistant-Inspector General (AIG) of Police. Murtala Mani.
“ The AIG had after much questioning, asked us to go and talk, and reach a conclusion and get back to him. The hospital lawyer, contacted my lawyer, begging him to convince me not to pursue a case, but I refused. We were supposed to get back to the police boss, but the coronavirus pandemic which had restricted movement has made it impossible to reports back there. But after this period, I will continue to fight until I find out what and where my child is. I also want the police to do a thorough job, investigate, and find out where my child is.”
Doctor Uzoma, a consultant gynaecologist, was contacted for comment. In his defence, the doctor said an earlier scam had showed Faith was carrying just one baby.
He said : “First of all, it is not my hospital, it is a catholic hospital, I am a consultant gynaecologist with the hospital, Faith Obinna was my patient, I gave her my phone number, if I wanted to steal her baby I won’t give her my number. The true situation of things is that in the month of November 2019, I asked her to do a scan which she did in the hospital with one of our male staffs, the scan showed two fetuses.
“ In January she did another scan with a female staff that showed it was a single fetus. While the scan was ongoing Faith said the previous scan revealed it was two babies so the male staff who conducted the first scan was invited, to take a look and he said he saw two fetuses while the former argued that it was one foetus. So the female staff asked him to write the report of the scan which she signed without informing any of the doctors.
“ Unfortunately when she did the third scan still by the male staff two fetuses were confirmed. Clinically faith has a big belly. The hospital worked based on the scan report, we prepared for the delivery of two babies. On the day of the cesarean section, we had seven doctors in the hospital including myself, and the CMD who is an orthopaedic surgeon. She was delivered to one baby and immediately we brought her husband into the theatre to see for himself while she was still open.
“ He wasn’t surprised because the first scan she did elsewhere confirmed one. A few days afterwards faith and her husband dragged the management to Alagbon police station where the case is presently being investigated. They have also served a court notification order demanding for N250 million naira. Never for once did we offer them money, the management of the hospital only ask them not to pay the balance of the bill since they claimed they spent more money buying double baby items. Unfortunately, since then, they have continued to threaten the hospital and management.”
In his response to the couple’s allegation, Reverend Father Joe Ben said, he doesn’t know why the couple are bent on dragging the hospital down because of human he termed “ human error. “
The cleric maintained that the CMD of the hospital, an orthopaedic surgeon is a knight of the catholic church, hence not capable of stealing, or conspiring to steal a baby.